There are over 15,000 businesses in Bradford and job forecasts predict that growth in jobs in Bradford will exceed city regional and regional levels.

Confidence in the city of Bradford is increasing.

Bradford is the prime location in the UK for businesses to base their headquarters, according to a report published by Portman Travel, the UK's largest independent travel management company.

The firm asked company bosses what they looked for in a town or city when deciding where to locate their headquarters.

Based on an analysis of the most important criteria Bradford came out as the best place for business in the UK, beating off competition from London and revitalised industrial cities such as Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow.

Bradford topped the pile due to its skilled workforce, good transport infrastructure, including its access to airports, and low levels of traffic congestion, according to the researchers.

The study identified the seven key factors bosses look for when deciding where to base their businesses, and ranked these against the 65 largest towns and cities from across the UK, all of which have a population of more than 100,000.

Bob Govan, marketing & development director at Portman Travel, said "Bradford's relative lack of traffic congestion, allied to its strong air and rail links, mean that it's much easier to conduct business there than in smaller towns or in a congested city like London."