Bradford has emerged as one of the UK's best-value places to do business in a study of the top 20 cities.

The district is praised for its low business rates, relatively cheap labour and affordable housing in a report by a leading business magazine.

Bradford comes 14th, ahead of Hull, Sunderland and Nottingham and just behind Manchester, Cardiff and Bristol. Leeds, which scores an overall rating of 63.87 per cent, is only slightly ahead of Bradford with 58.06 per cent.

The study, published by Growing Business magazine, also rates Bradford one of the best-performing cities for business growth. It refers to Royal Mail research showing an increased level of business activity in Bradford between 2003 and 2004, while London declined in the same period.

Bradford was second only to Hull as the cheapest city to do business but there were concerns about limited office space.

Mike Cartwright, policy executive at Bradford Chamber of Commerce, said there were positives and negatives to take from the report.

"At the risk of sounding complacent, there are some positives Bradford can take out of these findings," he said. "There are also some pointers we can flag up that can be acted upon.

"The city's location - close to other large cities like Leeds and close to the motorway network - is an advantage, as is the cost of living. Housing, wages, and leisure services are all at a more competitive level than in the Midlands and the south - and business activity seems to be on the increase, indicating more confidence.

"Some of those factors, including geographical location and comparative cost of living, are 'givens', though, in the sense that you cannot move a city and cost of living in the north usually favours well.

"The two key areas that let Bradford down time and again, though, are the lack of quality premises available to business, and the skills and qualifications business people are looking for. We hope to see more action on these soon but, on the whole, the report was not too worrying."

The winning city, according to the study was Glasgow, where the researchers said "a decade of aggressive regeneration is starting to pay dividends".

It was praised for its growing financial and business services sector, high employment gains and burgeoning tourism. The report said: "Glasgow proved that, of all the cities facing a similar challenge, it's adjusted best to post-industrial life."