Burnley has growth potential

The town is second only to Halton in Cheshire for the whole of the North West in the survey conducted by Experian.

Of the 4,000 companies in the area, 542 have been identified as ‘business champions’ – companies with fewer than 50 employees, high profitability and demonstrable ambition.

Moorhouse’s Brewery was selected as a shining example. Its recent £4.2million expansion increased production capacity from 320 barrels of beer a week to 1,000.

New Call Telecom’s decision to bring its call centre back from Mumbai and employ an East Lancashire workforce also helped highlight the town’s appeal.

Mike Damms, chief executive of East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, said: "To be successful in the world of commerce you need to have an agile business.

"Quite a few small companies are doing well in Burnley as they are the most agile and often fill a specific niche in the market."