The city of Cambridge is the best place for business growth in the UK according to a new league table.

The Small Business Outlook, conducted each year by the Centre for Cities, highlights the cities with the largest number of SMEs investing in high-growth strategies including pursuing innovation, training and operating in competitive markets.

Cambridge topped the poll with a strategy score of 59.6%, closely followed by Edinburgh at 57.2% and Brighton at 56.8%.

Blackpool, Liverpool and Rochdale ranked much lower coming bottom of the table at 38.3%, 37.5% and 36.9% demonstrating that the cities hardest hit during the recession had fewer firms adopting high-growth strategies, and are still behind in areas such as employment and productivity.

According to the report, companies following high-growth strategies are likely to be more productive and more profitable, and play a role in driving economic growth in the long term.

Alexandra Jones, chief executive of Centre for Cities, said: 'Through their decision to prioritise growth and innovation, high-performing firms are playing an important role in the UK’s economic recovery and creating jobs in their local communities. But what is very clear from this report is that the business conditions in cities and local communities have also played an important role in driving firms’ successes.'