| Home for business Edinburgh: A home for business A talented workforce, a glorious location and an economy that looks set to outpace the rest of the UK in difficult times; reasons to do business in Edinburgh just keep on growing. Did you know? Ò Edinburgh has more FTSE 100 companies based in the city than any other area of the UK outside London, with key strengths in finance, technology and tourism. Ó * UHY Hacker Young Report July 2008 F oreign Direct Investment Magazine (2008) ranks Edinburgh as top Small European City, sixth Best Overall City in Europe and second best in Europe (after London) for human resources. This places Edinburgh ahead of major cities such as Frankfurt, Madrid, Brussels, Barcelona, Geneva and Dublin. EdinburghÕs workforce is ScotlandÕs most productive, generating £28,432a-year per person* and is also one of the most highly qualified in the UK, with 43.6% of the population holding a degree level or professional qualification. Such a high level of education and concentration of knowledge-intensive industries has led to Edinburgh being identified as a knowledge city by the Work Foundation and is one of only two ÔideopolisÕ cities in the UK (alongside London). Edinburgh enjoyed the greatest economic growth of any UK city between 2002 and 2005 and is expected to continue outperforming most of the UK. Edinburgh is expected to grow by between 2.1% and 3.1% over the next few years. Being the home to the Scottish Parliament also makes the capital a magnet for related organisations and businesses. Major PLCs that have chosen Edinburgh as their headquarters include Cairn Energy, Forth Ports, Standard Life, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), British Energy and more. The Scottish Government, NHS Scotland and the City of Edinburgh Council are among the largest public sector employers in the city while some of ScotlandÕs largest privately- owned companies are based in the Edinburgh city region including Murray International Holdings and Globespan. Having such high profile companies and organisations in residence is also good news for the thousands of small and medium-sized businesses in the city region that reap the rewards of the kudos and economic strength these names bring to the city.