Staff at the beleagued inward investment agency Locate in Kent have been told there may not be enough money left in the kitty to pay wages they are owed or a redundancy payment.

The company went into shock liquidation last month after almost 30 years promoting the county.

Since being formed in 1996, it had supported around 1,130 companies in setting up or expanding in the area, helping to create and retain more than 70,000 jobs.

But in a dramatic twist, it floundered in September - just two weeks after the separate collapse of Visit Kent, which promoted the county as a tourism destination both at home and abroad.

Now KentOnline has learned Locate in Kent staff have been told money they are still owed through “arrears of pay, holiday payment, payment in lieu of notice and redundancy pay” may have to be claimed through the Redundancy Payments Service.

That is a government service, part of the Insolvency Service, that processes claims for statutory redundancy pay and other owed monies when an employer is insolvent.

In a letter sent to staff, apparently signed by Locate in Kent chief executive Nick Fenton - and seen by KentOnline - they are told: “As the company may be no longer in a position to meet these payments you will be required to claim any amounts due from the Redundancy Payments Service, under the Insolvency Provisions of the Employment Rights Act 1996, using their online claim system.”

It confirms they are all made redundant from October 1 and that insolvency practitioners Turpin Barker Armstrong have been approached by management. It has advised “steps should be taken to place the company into a creditors’ voluntary liquidation”.

This process, now being pursued by the Locate in Kent board, means a decision has been taken to put the company into liquidation, but there aren't enough assets to pay the creditors in full - in other words, the company is insolvent.

The letter to Locate in Kent staff added: “As you know, over many months, we have searched for ways of saving the company through additional income, etc., but despite our best endeavours, this has not proved possible.”

The letter also reveals talks are underway between Kent County Council and Medway Council to set up their own version of a Locate in Kent replacement - as well as a replacement for Visit Kent. It is hinted some staff could be re-employed by any new venture.

Visit Kent cited similar reasons when Go To Places, its umbrella organisation, confirmed on September 3 it was going into voluntary liquidation.

In a statement, the chair of Go To Places, Doug Bannister, who is also CEO of the Port of Dover, said: “This is not a decision we have arrived at lightly and the situation has arisen not through any single decision or failure, but as a result of a complex and challenging set of circumstances that reflect the wider economic pressures facing the UK’s public and tourism sectors.”

Announcing its own collapse on September 18, a statement from Locate in Kent - an entirely separate organisation to Visit Kent - explained that despite its successes “all of this has taken place against a backdrop of rising costs and reduced national funding. Government attention and spending continue to focus on areas that have been awarded as areas for devolution”.

It added: “It is within this context the board has reluctantly concluded Locate in Kent is no longer financially viable in the required term and has made the difficult decision to begin the process of voluntary liquidation.

“This decision has not been taken lightly. It reflects a challenging set of environmental and financial circumstances and forms part of a structured plan to responsibly conclude our business activities.”

It added: “We have a strong and talented team and on behalf of the board, I want to sincerely thank all the staff for their dedication, hard work, and belief in our mission. Their contributions have made a lasting impact, and we are incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved together.”

Staff are unlikely to be delighted by the situation surrounding monies owed, however, or consider it is “responsibly concluding its business activities” in relation to their employment.

Locate in Kent spin-off groups, the Kent Housing and Development Group, chaired by Locate in Kent CEO Nick Fenton and the Kent Developers Group, chaired by David Brooks Wilson - chair of Locate in Kent - will continue to operate separately from Locate in Kent.

It is unclear how monies the two organisations received dovetailed into Locate in Kent, which had about eight directly-employed staff.

Meanwhile, questions continue to be asked as to how the company imploded in such dramatic fashion.

According to its accounts filed at Companies House for the year ending March 2024, it showed a profit of more than £120,200.

Locate in Kent was primarily funded through Kent County Council and Medway Council. According to its accountants, it had seen its contract to provide inward investment services extended to March 2026 - which should have ensured its survival. In addition to that funding, it had corporate partnership with a number of Kent companies.

A spokesperson for Locate In Kent, said: “It is common for employees to be sign-posted to a government agency called the Redundancy Payments Service in these scenarios. It is a mechanism for employees to claim for unpaid entitlements at a time when a liquidator is still reviewing the affairs of a company.

“In the event that the Redundancy Payments Service pays funds to the former employees for these entitlements then the Redundancy Payments Service will step into the shoes of the employees as a creditor of the company. It is not uncommon that the Redundancy Payments Service is then reimbursed from the liquidation in due course once funds become available to do so”.

Insolvency practitioners Turpin Barker Armstrong failed to respond when approached.