Best areas to open cafe in North West
35 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 cafe or coffee shop in North West?
In North West, the best area to open a cafe or coffee shop is Wyre, with a Gera Business Location Score of 65.4/100: premises at £58/m²/yr and local median pay £27,657. Manchester ranks lowest of 35 North West authorities at 50.1/100. From 2025 UK government open data; re-dated annually.
North West ranked for cafe
| # | Local authority | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wyre | 65.4/100 | £58 | £27,657 | £2,506 |
| 2 | Hyndburn | 65.1/100 | £60 | £27,323 | £2,592 |
| 3 | Rossendale | 64.9/100 | £61 | £27,288 | £2,635 |
| 4 | Blackpool | 64.8/100 | £79 | £27,064 | £3,413 |
| 5 | Pendle | 64.4/100 | £61 | £28,099 | £2,635 |
| 6 | Tameside | 63.3/100 | £80 | £27,115 | £3,456 |
| 7 | Lancaster | 63.2/100 | £77 | £29,091 | £3,326 |
| 8 | Chorley | 62.6/100 | £76 | £29,415 | £3,283 |
| 9 | Sefton | 62.6/100 | £91 | £27,006 | £3,931 |
| 10 | Wigan | 62.3/100 | £85 | £28,003 | £3,672 |
| 11 | Burnley | 62.2/100 | £94 | £27,128 | £4,061 |
| 12 | Wirral | 62.1/100 | £85 | £28,840 | £3,672 |
| 13 | West Lancashire | 61.9/100 | £85 | £28,909 | £3,672 |
| 14 | St. Helens | 61.8/100 | £86 | £28,468 | £3,715 |
| 15 | Rochdale | 61.6/100 | £88 | £29,036 | £3,802 |
| 16 | Blackburn with Darwen | 61.4/100 | £84 | £30,572 | £3,629 |
| 17 | Cheshire West and Chester | 61.1/100 | £88 | £30,636 | £3,802 |
| 18 | Bolton | 61/100 | £103 | £27,696 | £4,450 |
| 19 | Oldham | 60.5/100 | £108 | £27,990 | £4,666 |
| 20 | Westmorland and Furness | 60.3/100 | £105 | £32,683 | £4,536 |
| 21 | South Ribble | 60.2/100 | £97 | £30,126 | £4,190 |
| 22 | Bury | 59.5/100 | £115 | £29,060 | £4,968 |
| 23 | Cumberland | 59.2/100 | £95 | £34,890 | £4,104 |
| 24 | Preston | 59.2/100 | £96 | £32,655 | £4,147 |
| 25 | Cheshire East | 58.7/100 | £101 | £33,200 | £4,363 |
| 26 | Stockport | 58.5/100 | £133 | £28,296 | £5,746 |
| 27 | Ribble Valley | 58.4/100 | £62 | £41,474 | £2,678 |
| 28 | Fylde | 58.3/100 | £90 | £36,962 | £3,888 |
| 29 | Knowsley | 58.3/100 | £102 | £32,181 | £4,406 |
| 30 | Liverpool | 57.8/100 | £112 | £33,648 | £4,838 |
| 31 | Warrington | 57.2/100 | £108 | £34,719 | £4,666 |
| 32 | Halton | 57.1/100 | £118 | £32,465 | £5,098 |
| 33 | Salford | 56.5/100 | £114 | £34,741 | £4,925 |
| 34 | Trafford | 51.7/100 | £193 | £31,516 | £8,338 |
| 35 | Manchester | 50.1/100 | £185 | £36,554 | £7,992 |
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest area for cafe premises in North West?
- The lowest VOA rateable value for this property type in North West is £58/m²/yr in Wyre. On the combined Gera Business Location Score, which also weighs wages and demand, Wyre ranks #1.
- How much are business rates for cafe in Wyre?
- For a 100 m² unit in Wyre, business rates are roughly £2,506/yr at the 2026-27 small-business multiplier (43.2p), on top of about £5,800/yr rent — before Small Business Rate Relief.
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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).