Manchester ranked as one of top European business cities

The prestigious European Cities Monitor has found that Manchester is the 12th best city in Europe for business.

The city has improved its ranking on last year, when it was rated 16th, and is the top UK city outside London.
 
Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester City Council said: "It is excellent news that Manchester's rating has improved so significantly, despite the challenging economic climate, and demonstrates that all the hard work the city has done and continues to do to improve as a business destination is paying off.
 
"The survey shows we really are in the top flight of European cities for business investment.
 
"From excellent office space to a skilled workforce to fantastic local, national and international transport links, Manchester consistently proves that it can meet and exceed the needs of any firm that chooses to come here. And by attracting investment, we create jobs, which has to be the focus of the city over the coming months and years."
 
In its 21st year, the European Cities Monitor is based on interviews with board directors and senior management in charge of location for the 500 largest companies in Europe.
 
It includes an overall ranking of which European city is considered by the business community to be 'best for business' and the 'best city in which to locate a business today'.
 
In addition to this, 36 cities are ranked against criteria such as quality of life, access to markets, availability and quality of staff, cost of office space, telecommunications and transport links.
 
The report is drawn up by Cushman & Wakefield, the world's largest privately-held commercial real estate services firm.