There was much for one of Scotland’s two biggest cities to celebrate in the latest attractiveness league table.

For the other, the news was, while certainly not terrible, less good.

Edinburgh was ranked second in the UK, with only London ahead of it, in the league table. Interestingly, while it also achieved this position last year, the Scottish capital was the only one of the top-five locations in the attractiveness chart to see its score improve.

In third spot is Greater Manchester, with a rise of two places. Birmingham remains in fourth spot. And Oxford has dropped from third to fifth.

Glasgow has fallen from seventh to 10th spot in the latest rankings. In the league table published last autumn, it had climbed from ninth to seventh place.

The Investment Confidence Index, produced by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) for law firms Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie LLP (WJM) and Irwin Mitchell, assesses 48 UK locations using measures linked to their appeal to overseas investors.

The report found Edinburgh performed strongly across growth potential, local skills and infrastructure, supported by its highly qualified workforce, strong international connectivity and position as one of the UK's leading financial centres.

It flagged the tough backdrop for foreign direct investment, citing figures from the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade showing that 1,020 FDI projects landed in 2025/26, down 25.8% from the previous year.

Scotland recorded 94 FDI projects in the year to March 2026, according to these figures.

The report says that, in spite of this “challenging backdrop”, Edinburgh “continues to benefit from its strengths in financial services, innovation, talent and infrastructure, helping maintain its position as one of........

© Herald Scotland