Best areas to open builders merchant in East
17 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 builders merchant in East?
In East, the best area to open a builders merchant is North Norfolk, with a Gera Business Location Score of 72.1/100: premises at £38/m²/yr and local median pay £26,296. Chelmsford ranks lowest of 17 East authorities at 46.2/100. From 2025 UK government open data; re-dated annually.
Gera Business Location Score
Top East area for builders merchant: North Norfolk.
How this is calculatedEast ranked for builders merchant
| # | Local authority | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Norfolk | 72.1/100 | £38 | £26,296 | £1,642 |
| 2 | Breckland | 69.8/100 | £44 | £28,303 | £1,901 |
| 3 | West Suffolk | 69/100 | £48 | £29,613 | £2,074 |
| 4 | Norwich | 61.7/100 | £47 | £28,457 | £2,030 |
| 5 | East Suffolk | 61.6/100 | £41 | £30,821 | £1,771 |
| 6 | Colchester | 61.2/100 | £45 | £31,056 | £1,944 |
| 7 | Bedford | 59.7/100 | £55 | £33,148 | £2,376 |
| 8 | Braintree | 58.4/100 | £76 | £32,175 | £3,283 |
| 9 | Southend-on-Sea | 58.3/100 | £55 | £26,955 | £2,376 |
| 10 | Peterborough | 57.8/100 | £73 | £31,062 | £3,154 |
| 11 | Luton | 55.9/100 | £63 | £29,640 | £2,722 |
| 12 | Ipswich | 55.7/100 | £57 | £30,605 | £2,462 |
| 13 | Dacorum | 55.3/100 | £113 | £18,675 | £4,882 |
| 14 | Central Bedfordshire | 54.6/100 | £69 | £30,963 | £2,981 |
| 15 | Basildon | 54.2/100 | £84 | £32,050 | £3,629 |
| 16 | St Albans | 53.2/100 | £90 | £33,468 | £3,888 |
| 17 | Chelmsford | 46.2/100 | £98 | £32,010 | £4,234 |
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest area for builders merchant premises in East?
- The lowest VOA rateable value for this property type in East is £38/m²/yr in North Norfolk. On the combined Gera Business Location Score, which also weighs wages and demand, North Norfolk ranks #1.
- How much are business rates for builders merchant in North Norfolk?
- For a 100 m² unit in North Norfolk, business rates are roughly £1,642/yr at the 2026-27 small-business multiplier (43.2p), on top of about £3,800/yr rent — before Small Business Rate Relief.
Opening a builders merchant in East?
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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).