Best areas to open financial / a2 office in East
44 East local authorities ranked by the Gera Business Location Score — real rent, wages, rates and market density.
Where is the best place to open a financial or professional A2-use office in East?
In East, the best area to open a financial or professional A2-use office is Fenland, with a Gera Business Location Score of 63.9/100: premises at £66/m²/yr and local median pay £27,005. Cambridge ranks lowest of 44 East authorities at 43/100. From 2025 UK government open data; re-dated annually.
East ranked for financial / a2 office
| # | Local authority | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fenland | 63.9/100 | £66 | £27,005 | £2,851 |
| 2 | Maldon | 62.8/100 | £94 | £25,496 | £4,061 |
| 3 | Dacorum | 62.8/100 | £143 | £18,675 | £6,178 |
| 4 | Great Yarmouth | 62.8/100 | £86 | £26,484 | £3,715 |
| 5 | Tendring | 62.7/100 | £83 | £27,067 | £3,586 |
| 6 | Babergh | 62.6/100 | £94 | £25,785 | £4,061 |
| 7 | Breckland | 62.3/100 | £80 | £28,303 | £3,456 |
| 8 | Luton | 62.2/100 | £71 | £29,640 | £3,067 |
| 9 | Southend-on-Sea | 61.6/100 | £100 | £26,955 | £4,320 |
| 10 | North Norfolk | 61.5/100 | £106 | £26,296 | £4,579 |
| 11 | King's Lynn and West Norfolk | 61.2/100 | £78 | £30,544 | £3,370 |
| 12 | Castle Point | 61/100 | £104 | £27,524 | £4,493 |
| 13 | Bedford | 60.4/100 | £71 | £33,148 | £3,067 |
| 14 | South Norfolk | 60.3/100 | £103 | £29,114 | £4,450 |
| 15 | East Suffolk | 60.2/100 | £91 | £30,821 | £3,931 |
| 16 | Peterborough | 60/100 | £92 | £31,062 | £3,974 |
| 17 | Central Bedfordshire | 59.9/100 | £94 | £30,963 | £4,061 |
| 18 | Broadland | 59.7/100 | £86 | £32,576 | £3,715 |
| 19 | Ipswich | 59.7/100 | £100 | £30,605 | £4,320 |
| 20 | Norwich | 59.1/100 | £124 | £28,457 | £5,357 |
| 21 | West Suffolk | 59.1/100 | £115 | £29,613 | £4,968 |
| 22 | Braintree | 59/100 | £98 | £32,175 | £4,234 |
| 23 | Rochford | 58.7/100 | £142 | £26,706 | £6,134 |
| 24 | Harlow | 58.1/100 | £109 | £32,320 | £4,709 |
| 25 | Huntingdonshire | 57.9/100 | £112 | £32,441 | £4,838 |
| 26 | Uttlesford | 57.1/100 | £126 | £32,124 | £5,443 |
| 27 | Brentwood | 57/100 | £140 | £30,607 | £6,048 |
| 28 | Colchester | 56.6/100 | £141 | £31,056 | £6,091 |
| 29 | North Hertfordshire | 56/100 | £132 | £33,409 | £5,702 |
| 30 | East Cambridgeshire | 55.9/100 | £156 | £30,232 | £6,739 |
| 31 | Broxbourne | 55.7/100 | £161 | £29,980 | £6,955 |
| 32 | East Hertfordshire | 55.7/100 | £144 | £32,293 | £6,221 |
| 33 | Basildon | 55.1/100 | £154 | £32,050 | £6,653 |
| 34 | Epping Forest | 53.9/100 | £187 | £30,038 | £8,078 |
| 35 | Chelmsford | 53.7/100 | £175 | £32,010 | £7,560 |
| 36 | Watford | 53.5/100 | £178 | £31,833 | £7,690 |
| 37 | Thurrock | 53.4/100 | £160 | £34,388 | £6,912 |
| 38 | St Albans | 52.6/100 | £181 | £33,468 | £7,819 |
| 39 | Welwyn Hatfield | 50.8/100 | £158 | £39,794 | £6,826 |
| 40 | Stevenage | 50.7/100 | £155 | £41,224 | £6,696 |
| 41 | Hertsmere | 50.1/100 | £198 | £36,000 | £8,554 |
| 42 | South Cambridgeshire | 46.9/100 | £203 | £41,348 | £8,770 |
| 43 | Three Rivers | 46.3/100 | £198 | £43,202 | £8,554 |
| 44 | Cambridge | 43/100 | £265 | £40,266 | £11,448 |
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest area for financial / a2 office premises in East?
- The lowest VOA rateable value for this property type in East is £66/m²/yr in Fenland. On the combined Gera Business Location Score, which also weighs wages and demand, Fenland ranks #1.
- How much are business rates for financial / a2 office in Fenland?
- For a 100 m² unit in Fenland, business rates are roughly £2,851/yr at the 2026-27 small-business multiplier (43.2p), on top of about £6,600/yr rent — before Small Business Rate Relief.
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Contains public sector information published by Valuation Office Agency and Office for National Statistics and licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: VOA Business Floorspace + ONS Business Counts + ONS ASHE (work geography) + ONS population estimates (2025 (VOA 31 March 2025; ASHE 2025 provisional; Business Counts 2025; population mid-2024), published December 2025).