Moving up from second place since the last report in 2003, Manchester's increased inward investment activity and provision of skilled workers has improved its appeal to new business owners. Glasgow is ranked second while Leeds, which took poll position in the 2003 survey, has dropped to third place. Other cities in the report's top ten include London, Liverpool, Sheffield and Cardiff. Newcastle has seen the biggest drop in rankings, moving from third to twelfth place since 2003.

The report also recognises 'second-tier' cities - those which OMIS Research believes offer good business infrastructure but on a smaller scale. Top of the 'second-tier' rankings is Wakefield, closely followed by Aberdeen and Leicester.

OMIS Research questioned business owners about their biggest concerns while conducting the survey and found that 19% cited regulations as a major worry. Almost half claimed that workforce was a key issue when choosing a business location, and 5% expressed concern about the lack of support available to them.

OMIS Research's managing consultant, Brian McDougall, echoes these concerns in an introduction to the report and claims the climate created by the Government is having a negative effect on Britain's business owners:

"Ever-increasing regulation, bureaucratisation and taxation of business, ever-worsening public transport infrastructure plus a perception that there is now less support for UK plc have created an environment that Britain's biggest employers are growing anxious about."