Swimmers will be crowned victorious in front of 250 spectators when a £26m leisure centre featuring an eight-lane swimming pool opens in early 2019.

Yet Adam Harding, right, regional director of BAM Construct, believes the real winners have already been crowned as his company starts work on the five acre site in Whitfield.

More than half the companies involved are expected to be from Kent.

They will all be part of the supply chain to the national construction contractor, which won the tender to build the project earlier this year.

On four Kent projects last year, the company made an average of 68% of its orders with firms in the county.

The company has spent nearly £260m on developments in Kent since October 2011, of which about 50% has been spent with contractors and the supply chain here.

“I would put Kent at the top when it comes to supply chain,” said Mr Harding.

“Their ambition to do a good job makes them successful and makes us want to work with them time-and-time again.”

BAM Construct, which has its headquarters in Hertfordshire, has worked with more than 200 Kent firms on projects across the UK.

In Kent, it has enjoyed a surge in investment in education as one of the government’s approved contractors.

Kent County Council has awarded several contracts to build schools in recent years. It has been a useful fallback for the company as uncertainty grips the private sector.

Mr Harding said: “We like to try to have balance between public sector and private sector. You never know where the market is going. In recent times, we’ve seen a pullback in private sector investment with the uncertainty around Brexit. You’ve got to have a balance of public sector work to feed the business.”

Mr Harding started his career with BAM in 1994 and was a site manager and project manager before accepting his job as South East regional director.

In that time he has seen several major contractors go out of business – notably Cardy in Canterbury last year.

“This industry is quite a risky business and the margins people work towards are quite tight,” said Mr Harding.

“Most of the companies which have gone out of business in the past four or five years have been fantastic contractors but people have taken risks that they couldn’t cover and that’s a real shame...” - Adam Harding, BAM Construct

“Most of the companies which have gone out of business in the past four or five years have been fantastic contractors but people have taken risks that they couldn’t cover and that’s a real shame.”

One of the reasons BAM is awarded major Kent contracts is its size.

Mr Harding said: “We class ourselves as regional – even though we are a national company – because we keep close to clients and local authorities.

“We are able to then call upon experts from other parts of the business.

“We have delivered a number of leisure centres in the rest of the UK and, when the Dover leisure centre project came along, I was able to call colleagues in the North East and cash in on their experience.”

BAM’s Kent projects and its investment

2011

• North West Kent College, Dartford – £33m
• Bluewater Events Centre, Dartford – £37m

2012

• Hilden Grange School, Tonbridge – £5m
• Strood Academy – £27m

2013

• Bishop of Rochester Academy – £24m
• Brompton Academy – £25m
• Wainscott Primary – £3m

2014

• Leigh UTC, Dartford – £10m

2016

• Duke of York’s Royal Military School, Dover – £28m
• Five Acre Wood School, Maidstone – £10m
• Foxwood & Highview School, Folkestone – £17m
• Ashford College – £13m

2017

• Ridge View School, Tonbridge – £17m
• Portal House, Dover – £10m

Total £259m

Future projects

• Inspiration Academy, Dartford – £8m
• Dover Leisure Centre – £20m
• Maidstone School of Science and Technology – £26m