Leeds tops business league table

Leeds has what it takes to lure new business to the city

Leeds has been ranked as the best city in the UK for business - beating 27 other cities in a survey of major employers' location needs.

But Yorkshire neighbour Hull came 28th, bottom of the league table devised by OMIS Research.

The rankings were calculated after a survey of directors and senior managers at 4,175 companies nationwide.

Northern England fared well, with Manchester (2nd) and Newcastle (3rd) pushing London into fourth place and Birmingham into sixth spot.

Workforce is key

Bradford was in eighth position, Sheffield in 11th and Wakefield in 15th.

TOP FIVE CITIES 1 Leeds 2 Manchester 3 Newcastle 4 London 5 Salford

The report's findings reveal that workforce is the number one consideration for employers.

Some 63% of those questioned cited three key considerations - labour pool, suitable skills and access for staff.

Other factors playing a major part in location or relocation decisions were suitable premises, sufficient transport infrastructure and low operating costs.

Leeds Chamber of Commerce president Tom Morton told BBC News Online: "I think this is fantastic news and it's got to be encouraging for the city's business community.

"The city council recently did a survey on the city's image which showed people who live here think it's great but the rest of the country are not aware of the benefits of the city.

BOTTOM FIVE CITIES 24 Aberdeen 25 Leicester 26 Plymouth 27 Southampton 28 Hull

"We need to spread the good news a bit more and this can only help achieve that aim."

Brian McDougall, managing consultant at OMIS Research, said: "Choosing the right location for business is probably more important now than ever before.

"Get it wrong in this market and you will seriously damage your business prospects."

In Hull, business leaders insisted they were suffering from an inaccurate perception of the city.

Negative image

Hull and Humber Chamber of Commerce chief executive Dr Ian Kelly said: "We are obviously very disappointed that the external perception was negative.

"But we were interested that the response was much more positive from companies already in the city."

He said the Humber port's image as a place to do business had been damaged by problems in the running of the city council and recent underperformance of big local companies such as Kingston Communications and Northern Foods.

However, a planned redevelopment of the city centre and the success of The Deep, one of Europe's biggest aquariums, could turn its fortunes around.

"We are confident that in two years' time we will be in a stronger position," said Dr Kelly.

"After all, one person's end of the line is another's gateway to Europe."