Best areas to open light-industrial business unit in East Midlands
12 East 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 light-industrial business unit in East Midlands?
In East Midlands, the best area to open a light-industrial business unit is High Peak, with a Gera Business Location Score of 82.5/100: premises at £16/m²/yr and local median pay £28,463. Derby ranks lowest of 12 East Midlands authorities at 63.2/100. From 2025 UK government open data; re-dated annually.
Gera Business Location Score
Top East Midlands area for light-industrial business unit: High Peak.
How this is calculatedEast Midlands ranked for light-industrial business unit
| # | Local authority | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | High Peak | 82.5/100 | £16 | £28,463 | £691 |
| 2 | Newark and Sherwood | 77.5/100 | £47 | £26,911 | £2,030 |
| 3 | Bassetlaw | 76.6/100 | £64 | £26,888 | £2,765 |
| 4 | Mansfield | 73/100 | £43 | £26,761 | £1,858 |
| 5 | Broxtowe | 71.6/100 | £73 | £27,113 | £3,154 |
| 6 | North Northamptonshire | 70.8/100 | £77 | £31,027 | £3,326 |
| 7 | Gedling | 70.5/100 | £68 | £26,135 | £2,938 |
| 8 | Rutland | 70.2/100 | £67 | £34,355 | £2,894 |
| 9 | Bolsover | 68.3/100 | £95 | £30,441 | £4,104 |
| 10 | Nottingham | 67.5/100 | £62 | £29,144 | £2,678 |
| 11 | West Northamptonshire | 67/100 | £79 | £33,147 | £3,413 |
| 12 | Derby | 63.2/100 | £58 | £35,179 | £2,506 |
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest area for light-industrial business unit premises in East Midlands?
- The lowest VOA rateable value for this property type in East Midlands is £16/m²/yr in High Peak. On the combined Gera Business Location Score, which also weighs wages and demand, High Peak ranks #1.
- How much are business rates for light-industrial business unit in High Peak?
- For a 100 m² unit in High Peak, business rates are roughly £691/yr at the 2026-27 small-business multiplier (43.2p), on top of about £1,600/yr rent — before Small Business Rate Relief.
Opening a light-industrial business unit in East 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).