Best areas to open builders merchant in North West
20 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 builders merchant in North West?
In North West, the best area to open a builders merchant is Preston, with a Gera Business Location Score of 74/100: premises at £31/m²/yr and local median pay £32,655. Liverpool ranks lowest of 20 North West authorities at 51.3/100. From 2025 UK government open data; re-dated annually.
Gera Business Location Score
Top North West area for builders merchant: Preston.
How this is calculatedNorth West ranked for builders merchant
| # | Local authority | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Preston | 74/100 | £31 | £32,655 | £1,339 |
| 2 | West Lancashire | 73.6/100 | £37 | £28,909 | £1,598 |
| 3 | Blackburn with Darwen | 72.3/100 | £53 | £30,572 | £2,290 |
| 4 | Stockport | 69.6/100 | £59 | £28,296 | £2,549 |
| 5 | Bury | 69/100 | £50 | £29,060 | £2,160 |
| 6 | Trafford | 68/100 | £65 | £31,516 | £2,808 |
| 7 | Oldham | 67.1/100 | £38 | £27,990 | £1,642 |
| 8 | Rochdale | 66.2/100 | £46 | £29,036 | £1,987 |
| 9 | Westmorland and Furness | 65.2/100 | £43 | £32,683 | £1,858 |
| 10 | Cheshire East | 64.7/100 | £61 | £33,200 | £2,635 |
| 11 | Ribble Valley | 64/100 | £41 | £41,474 | £1,771 |
| 12 | Fylde | 60.6/100 | £41 | £36,962 | £1,771 |
| 13 | Manchester | 60.4/100 | £61 | £36,554 | £2,635 |
| 14 | Sefton | 59.5/100 | £54 | £27,006 | £2,333 |
| 15 | Cheshire West and Chester | 58.6/100 | £54 | £30,636 | £2,333 |
| 16 | Wirral | 57.6/100 | £45 | £28,840 | £1,944 |
| 17 | Wigan | 56.5/100 | £58 | £28,003 | £2,506 |
| 18 | Cumberland | 55.7/100 | £41 | £34,890 | £1,771 |
| 19 | Warrington | 54.8/100 | £65 | £34,719 | £2,808 |
| 20 | Liverpool | 51.3/100 | £48 | £33,648 | £2,074 |
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest area for builders merchant premises in North West?
- The lowest VOA rateable value for this property type in North West is £31/m²/yr in Preston. On the combined Gera Business Location Score, which also weighs wages and demand, Preston ranks #1.
- How much are business rates for builders merchant in Preston?
- For a 100 m² unit in Preston, business rates are roughly £1,339/yr at the 2026-27 small-business multiplier (43.2p), on top of about £3,100/yr rent — before Small Business Rate Relief.
Opening a builders merchant in North West?
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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).