Exclusive by political editor Paul Francis

Bosses of a regional jobs quango accepted gifts and hospitality valued at nearly £8,000 in a year, including tickets to Wimbledon, top rugby international fixtures, the opera and music festivals.

Senior managers and directors of the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) received £7,836 in gifts and hospitality in 2008-09, according to details disclosed to KM Group under the Freedom of Information Act.

SEEDA is the agency charged with boosting jobs and investment in Kent and across the region. It has faced criticism over its spending and recently had its annual budget trimmed.

The claims reveal one manager enjoyed a trip to watch horse racing at Goodwood worth £470, while another enjoyed hospitality at a Twenty20 cricket match worth £250.

Out-going chairman James Brathwaite was among the highest recipients, detailing hospitality for 2008-2009 totalling £1,380 courtesy of a range of private companies and other public organisations.

Mr Brathwaite - who is paid more than £54,000 a year as chairman but is about to relinquish the job - enjoyed a number of free trips to sought-after sporting events, including:

• A trip to Twickenham to watch England play France in the Six Nations - his £120 ticket was paid for by EADS Astrium, a global aerospace company;
• A visit to Southampton in January to watch them play Manchester United in the FA Cup - his ticket, valued at £110 was provided by Paris Smith and Randall, a large company of commercial solicitors based in Southampton;
• A day out in Cardiff to watch the Welsh rugby team narrowly beaten by South Africa at Cardiff Arms Park in November last year - his hosts, Marshall Tufflex Limited, paid £55 for his seat;
• A trip to Silverstone to take in the British Grand Prix in July last year - the organisers covered the £150 ticket;
• A visit to a tennis tournament where he and a guest enjoyed the action over lunch - Paris Smith and Randall paid for the hospitality, valued at £40 per person.

SEEDA chief excutive Pam Alexander registered £1,421 in gifts and hospitality over the period.

Her details included being a guest at 22 dinners and lunches with various businesses, MPs and public sector bodies, including two with the Department of Communities and Local Government and one as a guest of BT valued at £120.

Other events she attended:

• In July last year, she was at Wimbledon thanks to a £120 ticket provided by banking group HSBC, who also entertained her to lunch;
• The same month, she was a guest of the Arts Council at the opera, which paid for her ticket and dinner, together valued at £100.

Other directors who registered hospitality included Oona Muirhead, SEEDA's executive director of sustainable prosperity who attended the Isle of Wight music festival in June along with a guest, thanks to two tickets worth £50 each from the Isle of Wight Council.

Colleague Paul Lovejoy, the executive director of strategy and communications, enjoyed hospitality valued at £200 as a guest of BT at Cowes Sailing week in August.

The company also offered Jeff Alexander, executive director of competitiveness and growth, a £90 ticket to watch Wales play England in the 2008 Six Nations rugby championship.