IN MAY York was crowned the most profitable place for business in Britain, ahead of 139 other towns and cities.

That was quite a turnaround. Only a decade earlier, York was stagnating, its reliance on a handful of heavy industries exposing the city to the full, icy blast of the downturn.

Since then, York has rebuilt its economic base, the key word being diversity. Chocolate and train-building remain cornerstones, although the future of the latter is still uncertain. By contrast, the Science City initiative goes from strength to strength, attracting companies working at the cutting edge of the bio-technology and computer fields.

Throughout this turbulent period, one York firm has grown until it became the biggest of its kind in Britain. Forget microchips or genes, its raw materials are more basic: bricks and mortar.

Housebuilder Persimmon announced another record-breaking set of results today. In the first half of the year, the Fulford firm's profit jumped to £134 million. Cynics would scoff that any building concern is bound to cash in during the present housing boom. Certainly low interest rates and surging property prices are key to its excellent performance.

But that is to ignore Persimmon's carefully-plotted strategy over 30 years which brought it to today's peak.

The company has had to chart a course through recessions which left the construction industry on its knees. Now it is reaping the rewards of expert, ambitious management.

That is good news for York, for Persimmon's 4,400 employees based locally and nationally and - at a time when Britain is facing an acute housing crisis - for the country.

Persimmon's position as Britain's biggest housebuilder makes it ideally placed to take the lead on responsible development. That applies locally - in its pledge to clean-up the former gasworks in Heworth, York, for example - and nationally. Persimmon will be at the forefront of schemes to build more affordable housing.

In this way, every sector of society can share in one of York's best success stories.

Updated: 10:37 Tuesday, August 27, 2002