Best UK areas to open builders merchant
161 local authorities ranked by the Gera Business Location Score — real commercial rent, local wages, business rates and market density.
Which UK areas are best for opening a builders merchant in 2026?
The best UK area to open a builders merchant is Powys (Wales), with a Gera Business Location Score of 85.7/100: premises at £24/m²/yr and local median pay of £26,839. Croydon ranks lowest at 24.2/100. Ranked across 161 local authorities from 2025 government open data; re-dated annually.
Top 10 areas for builders merchant
| # | Local authority | Region | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Powys | Wales | 85.7/100 | £24 | £26,839 | £1,037 |
| 2 | Herefordshire, County of | West Midlands | 81.1/100 | £37 | £28,366 | £1,598 |
| 3 | Boston | East Midlands | 79.1/100 | £31 | £26,187 | £1,339 |
| 4 | Pembrokeshire / Sir Benfro | Wales | 75.8/100 | £25 | £26,535 | £1,080 |
| 5 | Cotswold | South West | 75.6/100 | £62 | £29,655 | £2,678 |
| 6 | South Hams | South West | 74.9/100 | £45 | £28,329 | £1,944 |
| 7 | Ceredigion | Wales | 74.5/100 | £32 | £27,868 | £1,382 |
| 8 | Preston | North West | 74/100 | £31 | £32,655 | £1,339 |
| 9 | West Lancashire | North West | 73.6/100 | £37 | £28,909 | £1,598 |
| 10 | South Holland | East Midlands | 73.3/100 | £43 | £27,809 | £1,858 |
Filter by your budget
Set a premises size and monthly budget to shortlist the areas that fit.
Budget covers estimated annual rent (VOA rateable value × floor area) plus the 2026-27 small-business rates bill (43.2p multiplier), spread over 12 months. Real reliefs (e.g. Small Business Rate Relief) can reduce the rates portion further.
Best areas to open a builders merchant within £2,000/month
- 1PowysWalesGBLS 85.7≈ £229/mo
- 2Herefordshire, County ofWest MidlandsGBLS 81.1≈ £353/mo
- 3BostonEast MidlandsGBLS 79.1≈ £296/mo
- 4Pembrokeshire / Sir BenfroWalesGBLS 75.8≈ £239/mo
- 5CotswoldSouth WestGBLS 75.6≈ £592/mo
- 6South HamsSouth WestGBLS 74.9≈ £430/mo
- 7CeredigionWalesGBLS 74.5≈ £305/mo
- 8PrestonNorth WestGBLS 74≈ £296/mo
- 9West LancashireNorth WestGBLS 73.6≈ £353/mo
- 10South HollandEast MidlandsGBLS 73.3≈ £411/mo
- 11North YorkshireYorkshire and The HumberGBLS 72.6≈ £458/mo
- 12Blackburn with DarwenNorth WestGBLS 72.3≈ £506/mo
- 13North NorfolkEastGBLS 72.1≈ £363/mo
- 14South KestevenEast MidlandsGBLS 71.7≈ £420/mo
- 15East LindseyEast MidlandsGBLS 71.1≈ £382/mo
Builders merchant by region
Frequently asked questions
- Where is the cheapest place to open a builders merchant in the UK?
- By premises cost alone, the lowest VOA rateable value among the 161 ranked areas is £24/m²/yr in Powys. But the Gera Business Location Score also weighs local wages and market demand: on the combined score, Powys ranks #1 at 85.7/100.
- How much is rent and business rates for builders merchant premises in Powys?
- In Powys, the VOA rateable value for this property type is £24 per m² per year. For a 100 m² unit that is about £2,400/yr rent, plus roughly £1,037/yr business rates at the 2026-27 small-business multiplier (43.2p) — before any Small Business Rate Relief.
- What data is this based on?
- VOA Non-Domestic Rating Business Floorspace (rateable value per m², 31 March 2025), ONS UK Business Counts 2025 (market density), ONS ASHE 2025 (local wages) and ONS mid-2024 population — all Open Government Licence v3.0, joined on the ONS local-authority code.
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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).