A CLAIM that Glasgow is the best place in Britain to do business has so enraged business leaders in York that the issuer of the report has now partly backed down.

York was honoured with that title two years ago in a Dun and Bradstreet survey, yet the city figured nowhere in this latest report, by Growing Business Magazine.

The reason? The magazine based its researches on Britain's 20 biggest cities. It explains why other northern cities are in the rankings, like Sheffield at eighth and Leeds at ninth - but not York

Imelda Havers, chief executive of york-england.com, the inward investment organisation, said: "If I was an investor seeking a place to relocate a business I would put this survey straight into the bin. If they are only concentrating on the biggest cities, their conclusions are by nature limited and therefore unhelpful to investors who look to relocate to a place with quality of life - good schools, lovely countryside and suitable workforce. We have all this in York in shedloads."

Only last week York's status as the best location in the UK to do business was boasted of in a speech by Andrew Lindsay, president of the York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce.

Alongside him at the chamber's annual dinner was the Duke of York.

Len Cruddas, the chamber's chief executive, said: "It is precisely because York is not a huge conurbation which makes it a good place to do business, one which has a thriving social environment and business environment.

"The headline on the report was: 'The best place to do business in Britain'. Either that should have been qualified by changing 'best place' to 'biggest city', or a question mark should be put at the end. It is clearly what the scientists would call a non-representative sample."

Matt Thomas, features editor of Growing Business Magazine, admitted: "They have a point. We didn't mention York because it did not present itself to us and could have represented a gap in our research.

"I am sure there are areas - and York was one of them - which were not large enough to be considered and have been harshly missed out."

Updated: 11:30 Friday, March 11, 2005