YORK is open for business, according to a new report by Centre for Cities.

The think tank categorised the city as open for business, but less entrepreneurial in its latest report, which dissects the business base of city economies.

The report, supported by ICAEW, said the most successful cities combined homegrown enterprise with external investment.

York’s economy was described as stable and it featured in the largest category for business stock with 294 to 392 businesses per 10,000 population in 2010. More than 16 per cent of its businesses were classed as “branch” business, meaning they are headquartered elsewhere. York had just over 30 home grown businesses per 10,000 population in 2010.

The report found that most of the UK’s cities, 35 out of 64, were open but had low levels of enterprise.

It said York was, however, stable. “This means that while these cities are in a good position to import growth into their economies through their branch businesses, they are less likely to generate growth organically.

“Those cities that have larger business bases, such as Bristol, Cambridge and York, have tended to perform more strongly in recent years, and tend to be the more entrepreneurial of the cities within this category.”

Cities with more entrepreneurial and open economies fared the best and also tended to have more foreign migrants, the report said.