Northampton 99th in country for what it offers business

The UK Competitiveness Index, published annually, ranked Northampton 99th out of 407 areas through looking at what they can offer in areas such as skills and qualifications, business start ups and the number of employable people.

The town has moved up the rankings slightly from 2007, when it was rated 101. Northampton has performed better than Leicester in the rankings, although Daventry, at 88, and South Northamptonshire, at 62, appear higher.

Councillor Tony Woods (Lib Dem, St Davids), leader of Northampton Borough Council, said: "It's encouraging but I think there is much more we can do and must do to improve our position.

"I think we have got to use some of the advantages that we have as a growth area to make sure that we have got some really good quality sites for both our businesses and those coming to the area.

"Our location is fantastic but we need to make sure we have both the premises and the people to employ, and make sure our education and skills level is high."

Paul Griffiths, the chief executive of Northamptonshire Chamber of Commerce, said: "We're in a good geographical position, within two hours drive of 75 per cent of the UK's population, and costs of doing business here are much lower than the south of England.

"We're one of the top places for attracting new businesses starting, so I'm quite surprised we're only 99th."