Best areas to open cafe in South West
26 South 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 South West?
In South West, the best area to open a cafe or coffee shop is Forest of Dean, with a Gera Business Location Score of 65.9/100: premises at £66/m²/yr and local median pay £25,387. South Gloucestershire ranks lowest of 26 South West authorities at 37.9/100. From 2025 UK government open data; re-dated annually.
South West ranked for cafe
| # | Local authority | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Forest of Dean | 65.9/100 | £66 | £25,387 | £2,851 |
| 2 | North Devon | 63/100 | £101 | £27,526 | £4,363 |
| 3 | Torridge | 63/100 | £95 | £26,745 | £4,104 |
| 4 | Dorset | 62.7/100 | £88 | £29,292 | £3,802 |
| 5 | Mid Devon | 62.4/100 | £81 | £29,224 | £3,499 |
| 6 | West Devon | 62.2/100 | £99 | £28,161 | £4,277 |
| 7 | Torbay | 61.3/100 | £111 | £28,066 | £4,795 |
| 8 | Somerset | 60.9/100 | £103 | £29,152 | £4,450 |
| 9 | Teignbridge | 60.6/100 | £112 | £28,636 | £4,838 |
| 10 | Cornwall | 60.4/100 | £135 | £27,006 | £5,832 |
| 11 | Gloucester | 59.2/100 | £108 | £30,796 | £4,666 |
| 12 | Stroud | 59.2/100 | £100 | £32,495 | £4,320 |
| 13 | East Devon | 59.1/100 | £110 | £31,874 | £4,752 |
| 14 | Cotswold | 59/100 | £137 | £29,655 | £5,918 |
| 15 | South Hams | 58.7/100 | £148 | £28,329 | £6,394 |
| 16 | North Somerset | 58.6/100 | £130 | £28,749 | £5,616 |
| 17 | Wiltshire | 57.5/100 | £134 | £30,000 | £5,789 |
| 18 | Plymouth | 56.3/100 | £145 | £30,346 | £6,264 |
| 19 | Cheltenham | 55.6/100 | £132 | £35,202 | £5,702 |
| 20 | Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole | 55.2/100 | £155 | £31,121 | £6,696 |
| 21 | Tewkesbury | 55.2/100 | £119 | £37,088 | £5,141 |
| 22 | Swindon | 53.9/100 | £154 | £32,933 | £6,653 |
| 23 | Exeter | 53.7/100 | £177 | £30,138 | £7,646 |
| 24 | Bath and North East Somerset | 52.7/100 | £181 | £32,004 | £7,819 |
| 25 | Bristol, City of | 51.9/100 | £160 | £36,652 | £6,912 |
| 26 | South Gloucestershire | 37.9/100 | £316 | £36,920 | £13,651 |
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest area for cafe premises in South West?
- The lowest VOA rateable value for this property type in South West is £66/m²/yr in Forest of Dean. On the combined Gera Business Location Score, which also weighs wages and demand, Forest of Dean ranks #1.
- How much are business rates for cafe in Forest of Dean?
- For a 100 m² unit in Forest of Dean, business rates are roughly £2,851/yr at the 2026-27 small-business multiplier (43.2p), on top of about £6,600/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).