Best areas to open financial / a2 office in North West
34 North West 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 North West?
In North West, the best area to open a financial or professional A2-use office is Hyndburn, with a Gera Business Location Score of 65.3/100: premises at £44/m²/yr and local median pay £27,323. Manchester ranks lowest of 34 North West authorities at 48.9/100. From 2025 UK government open data; re-dated annually.
Gera Business Location Score
Top North West area for financial / a2 office: Hyndburn.
How this is calculatedNorth West ranked for financial / a2 office
| # | Local authority | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hyndburn | 65.3/100 | £44 | £27,323 | £1,901 |
| 2 | Blackpool | 64.6/100 | £55 | £27,064 | £2,376 |
| 3 | Burnley | 64.5/100 | £57 | £27,128 | £2,462 |
| 4 | Rochdale | 63.4/100 | £59 | £29,036 | £2,549 |
| 5 | Pendle | 63.3/100 | £67 | £28,099 | £2,894 |
| 6 | Oldham | 63.2/100 | £69 | £27,990 | £2,981 |
| 7 | Tameside | 62.8/100 | £81 | £27,115 | £3,499 |
| 8 | Blackburn with Darwen | 62.6/100 | £58 | £30,572 | £2,506 |
| 9 | Bolton | 62.5/100 | £81 | £27,696 | £3,499 |
| 10 | St. Helens | 62.5/100 | £75 | £28,468 | £3,240 |
| 11 | Sefton | 61.9/100 | £94 | £27,006 | £4,061 |
| 12 | Chorley | 61.7/100 | £81 | £29,415 | £3,499 |
| 13 | Wirral | 61.7/100 | £83 | £28,840 | £3,586 |
| 14 | Wigan | 61.6/100 | £91 | £28,003 | £3,931 |
| 15 | Wyre | 61.3/100 | £98 | £27,657 | £4,234 |
| 16 | West Lancashire | 61.2/100 | £90 | £28,909 | £3,888 |
| 17 | Bury | 61.1/100 | £92 | £29,060 | £3,974 |
| 18 | Stockport | 60.9/100 | £100 | £28,296 | £4,320 |
| 19 | Preston | 60.8/100 | £70 | £32,655 | £3,024 |
| 20 | Halton | 60/100 | £81 | £32,465 | £3,499 |
| 21 | Westmorland and Furness | 60/100 | £80 | £32,683 | £3,456 |
| 22 | Lancaster | 59.9/100 | £107 | £29,091 | £4,622 |
| 23 | Trafford | 59.6/100 | £97 | £31,516 | £4,190 |
| 24 | South Ribble | 59.6/100 | £105 | £30,126 | £4,536 |
| 25 | Cumberland | 59/100 | £78 | £34,890 | £3,370 |
| 26 | Knowsley | 58.9/100 | £98 | £32,181 | £4,234 |
| 27 | Warrington | 58.6/100 | £85 | £34,719 | £3,672 |
| 28 | Cheshire West and Chester | 57.8/100 | £127 | £30,636 | £5,486 |
| 29 | Cheshire East | 57.3/100 | £116 | £33,200 | £5,011 |
| 30 | Fylde | 57.1/100 | £90 | £36,962 | £3,888 |
| 31 | Ribble Valley | 55.6/100 | £79 | £41,474 | £3,413 |
| 32 | Salford | 55.3/100 | £132 | £34,741 | £5,702 |
| 33 | Liverpool | 53.2/100 | £169 | £33,648 | £7,301 |
| 34 | Manchester | 48.9/100 | £209 | £36,554 | £9,029 |
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest area for financial / a2 office premises in North West?
- The lowest VOA rateable value for this property type in North West is £44/m²/yr in Hyndburn. On the combined Gera Business Location Score, which also weighs wages and demand, Hyndburn ranks #1.
- How much are business rates for financial / a2 office in Hyndburn?
- For a 100 m² unit in Hyndburn, business rates are roughly £1,901/yr at the 2026-27 small-business multiplier (43.2p), on top of about £4,400/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).