STORY
Kent’ s Quiet Giants cont...
EUROTUNNEL / LESHUTTLE, FOLKESTONE
LeShuttle is one of Kent’ s most extraordinary pieces of everyday engineering. You arrive outside Folkestone with luggage, passports, children, dogs, snacks and the mild chaos of a Channel crossing, then board a train that carries vehicles beneath the sea to France in 35 minutes. Behind that familiar ritual is a vast transport business sitting at the hinge between Britain and mainland Europe. In the first half of 2025, LeShuttle carried 59.9 % of short-straits car traffic across The Channel, while Getlink recorded more than 1.55m passenger vehicles and nearly 780,000 trucks travelling on the shuttles since the start of that year alone. As is evident, Folkestone’ s terminal is not just a departure point, but a piece of continental infrastructure planted in East Kent soil.
SAGA, FOLKESTONE / SANDGATE Saga began with a beautifully simple observation from the Kent coast when Sidney and Margery De Haan bought the Rhodesia Hotel in Folkestone in 1948, then built a travel business around older holidaymakers who could enjoy seaside breaks outside the crowded summer weeks. From that 12-bedroom hotel grew a national name in holidays, cruises, insurance and services for people over 50. The company’ s relationship with Folkestone and Sandgate has shifted over the years, especially after the pandemic, but its local significance remains substantial. Before lockdown, Saga was Folkestone’ s largest employer, with office space in the town for around 2,500 colleagues, and, in May 2026, it announced a return to Enbrook Park with plans for a sustainable future on the site.
KEF, MAIDSTONE Founded in Maidstone in 1961 by ex-BBC electrical engineer Raymond Cooke, KEF gives Kent’ s business map a dose of precision, taste and acoustic obsession having begun in a Nissen hut on the premises of Kent Engineering & Foundry, from which it still takes its name. Cooke was fascinated by new materials, new technologies and the difficult art of making recorded sound feel natural rather than manufactured.
Fast-forward 65 years and KEF is a high-end audio name with international recognition producing speakers, subwoofers, wireless systems and headphones while continuing to manufacture and develop signature pieces in Maidstone. It is one of the county’ s more elegant industrial stories, where engineering and design meet in the pursuit of cleaner, truer sound.
CHILDRENSALON, TUNBRIDGE WELLS Childrensalon’ s origins can be traced back to Sybil Harriman opening The Children’ s Salon in 1952 on Mount Sion, selling her own childrenswear label- Joy Models- alongside imported French brands. Over 70 years later, the business sells more than 240 designer labels including Gucci, Burberry, Dolce & Gabbana and Moncler to customers in more than 170 countries. Its story still carries the upmarket essence of its spa-town origins, with a sense of family, service and exacting taste running through the brand rather than being ironed out by scale. What began as a beautifully presented children’ s shop has become an international luxury retail business, sending miniature wardrobes with serious fashion clout from Tunbridge Wells to customers across the world.
CHAPEL DOWN, TENTERDEN Chapel Down has become one of the names most closely associated with English wine’ s move from charming novelty to serious international contender. Based near Tenterden in the heart of the Garden of England, the company produces still and sparkling wines and opens its winery estate to visitors for tours, tastings and a closer look at the Kent countryside behind the label. Its timing could hardly be better. At the 2026 International Wine Challenge, England won a record 25 gold medals, with Kent taking 12 golds as the country’ s strongest-performing English region. Chapel Down has built its own awards story too, including international recognition for its sparkling wines. For Kent, this is countryside with commercial ambition, where soil, climate, branding and patience have become one of the county’ s best-known modern exports.
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