Best areas to open builders merchant in West Midlands
16 West Midlands 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 West Midlands?
In West Midlands, the best area to open a builders merchant is Herefordshire, County of, with a Gera Business Location Score of 81.1/100: premises at £37/m²/yr and local median pay £28,366. Coventry ranks lowest of 16 West Midlands authorities at 45.4/100. From 2025 UK government open data; re-dated annually.
Gera Business Location Score
Top West Midlands area for builders merchant: Herefordshire, County of.
How this is calculatedWest Midlands ranked for builders merchant
| # | Local authority | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Herefordshire, County of | 81.1/100 | £37 | £28,366 | £1,598 |
| 2 | Shropshire | 71/100 | £54 | £28,397 | £2,333 |
| 3 | Wyre Forest | 70.2/100 | £46 | £27,346 | £1,987 |
| 4 | Wolverhampton | 68.4/100 | £27 | £32,053 | £1,166 |
| 5 | Sandwell | 64.1/100 | £59 | £28,766 | £2,549 |
| 6 | Wychavon | 62.3/100 | £73 | £32,022 | £3,154 |
| 7 | Walsall | 62.1/100 | £57 | £28,691 | £2,462 |
| 8 | Stafford | 61.7/100 | £69 | £28,523 | £2,981 |
| 9 | Telford and Wrekin | 59/100 | £56 | £30,601 | £2,419 |
| 10 | Birmingham | 58.5/100 | £56 | £33,374 | £2,419 |
| 11 | Worcester | 57/100 | £54 | £30,003 | £2,333 |
| 12 | Solihull | 53.4/100 | £61 | £35,794 | £2,635 |
| 13 | Stoke-on-Trent | 52.7/100 | £67 | £30,767 | £2,894 |
| 14 | Warwick | 51.9/100 | £85 | £33,616 | £3,672 |
| 15 | Stratford-on-Avon | 51.5/100 | £76 | £42,929 | £3,283 |
| 16 | Coventry | 45.4/100 | £64 | £35,124 | £2,765 |
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest area for builders merchant premises in West Midlands?
- The lowest VOA rateable value for this property type in West Midlands is £27/m²/yr in Wolverhampton. On the combined Gera Business Location Score, which also weighs wages and demand, Herefordshire, County of ranks #1.
- How much are business rates for builders merchant in Herefordshire, County of?
- For a 100 m² unit in Herefordshire, County of, business rates are roughly £1,598/yr at the 2026-27 small-business multiplier (43.2p), on top of about £3,700/yr rent — before Small Business Rate Relief.
Opening a builders merchant in West Midlands?
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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).