Margatonians might be forgiven for thinking that all roads out of the town now lead to Reading in Berkshire.Of course, we all know that one of Margate's prime eyesores, the Dreamland site, is owned by Reading firm Waterbridge. And that Head Dreamland Saver, Nick Laister, who wants to put knackered old rides on the site, is based a few miles up the road in Wantage.
Now the council has given the contract to renovate the pier to a company called Pineapple. It's been quite a trek finding out who Pineapple are, as there's more than one company of that name, but the old Eastcliff mincers eventually alighted upon Pineapple Property (Kent) Ltd. Who, despite having the word Kent in their title, have their registered office in? You've guessed it, Reading!
To be fair, four out of the six shareholders do live in Thanet, according to the latest annual return filed at Companies House, with the other two living in Oxfordshire (not far from Reading).
Oh well, that's what attracting investment is all about, I suppose. Just as long as Margate doesn't end up as, er, attractive as Reading!
