Manchester on top global city list

It is the only UK city other than London to be named in the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) list of the world's best places to live.

Ranking 46th out of 140 - five places ahead of the capital - it scores highly on stability, health care, culture and environment, education and infrastructure.

International investors, particularly those in the finance and business-services industries that already have operations in London, are increasingly considering secondary locations outside the capital, which is good news for the region

Simon Allport

Spokesman

Ernst & Young

Says Colin Sinclair, boss of MIDAS, Manchester's inward investment agency: "This confirms Manchester's burgeoning status on the national and international stage. And amid these difficult economic times, we are working even harder to attract national and international investment while supporting those international businesses that are already here.”

That ambition is encouraged by accountancy giant Ernst & Young (E&Y), which cites the UK, particularly the North West, as the best place in European to invest. Despite the recession, E&Y has helped the North West to attract more foreign direct investment projects this year than last.

Says E&Y spokesman Simon Allport: “International investors, particularly those in the finance and business-services industries that already have operations in London, are increasingly considering secondary locations outside the capital, which is good news for the region.”

He said that the North West was one of five UK regions out of 12 to experience growth in inward investment in a market that has seen a 6% decline nationally.

The unit notes that top-scoring cities tend to be mid-sized, in developed countries and with less of the crime or infrastructure problems associated with large populations.

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