Manchester reaffirms position as a leading European business city

Manchester is the best city for business in the UK outside London, according to a new report by real estate specialists Cushman & Wakefield.

The research, based on responses from senior executives from 500 top European companies, indicates that Manchester is increasingly recognised as an attractive city-region to invest in and develop a successful global business.

At a European level, Manchester climbed four places to 14th place in the survey of leading business locations, placing it above every UK city outside London and moving above Dublin.

Manchester was ranked second in Europe for availability of office space and tenth best city in terms of value for money. Its transport links has long been a key driver for inward investors, and it featured in the top 10 European cities for both internal and external transport links, supported by a significant rise in rankings in terms of ease of access to markets.

The release of the European report follows the publication of Cushman & Wakefield's UK Cities Monitor in September in which Manchester was listed as the best UK city outside London for international and internal transport links, the best UK city for a new headquarters and best UK city for a new back office function, for the second year running.

Tony Bray, a director at Cushman & Wakefield, commented, "Manchester is aiming to complement rather than compete with London and will continue to attract UK and international corporates. While the city region should not rest on its laurels it is as well placed as possible to perform through the economic uncertainty which we now face."

Colin Sinclair, Chief Executive of MIDAS, Manchester City Region's investment and development agency, said "the European and UK Cities Monitors are highly respected indices and we are pleased with our progress, but we won't rest on our laurels. There is a lot to do and we know how tough the market will be in the coming year."