Bradford rose 105 places in the rankings in a survey of the UK's most profitable cities and towns last year.

The city went from 379th place in 2000 to 274th place in 2001 in the report compiled by financial information provider Experian.

The survey of more than 400 towns and cities across Britain was based on analysis of limited companies with no more than 250 employees and a turnover of not more than £11.2 million.

It included UK towns and cities that contained at least 50 companies matching the criteria and was based on the most recently filed accounts from 2001.

Although the overall percentage of Bradford companies which made a profit fell fractionally from 76.8 in 2000 to 76.1 per cent last year, average profit margins grew from 0.5 per cent to 2.17 per cent.

The number of Bradford companies which made a loss fell from 23.9 per cent in 2000 to 23.2 per cent last year.

The survey revealed that the top 50 most profitable towns are concentrated in the south of England. Bexleyheath in London was named the most profitable area in Britain.

In England the overall national average profit margin for small to medium businesses fell from three per cent to 2.8 per cent.