Best areas to open cafe in Wales
22 Wales 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 Wales?
In Wales, the best area to open a cafe or coffee shop is Gwynedd, with a Gera Business Location Score of 68.5/100: premises at £62/m²/yr and local median pay £25,217. Cardiff / Caerdydd ranks lowest of 22 Wales authorities at 55.3/100. From 2025 UK government open data; re-dated annually.
Wales ranked for cafe
| # | Local authority | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gwynedd | 68.5/100 | £62 | £25,217 | £2,678 |
| 2 | Powys | 66.3/100 | £67 | £26,839 | £2,894 |
| 3 | Conwy | 66.1/100 | £75 | £26,961 | £3,240 |
| 4 | Isle of Anglesey / Ynys Môn | 65.9/100 | £62 | £29,867 | £2,678 |
| 5 | Pembrokeshire / Sir Benfro | 65.7/100 | £84 | £26,535 | £3,629 |
| 6 | Blaenau Gwent | 65.5/100 | £57 | £26,241 | £2,462 |
| 7 | Denbighshire / Sir Ddinbych | 65.4/100 | £68 | £27,011 | £2,938 |
| 8 | Merthyr Tydfil / Merthyr Tudful | 64.4/100 | £65 | £27,843 | £2,808 |
| 9 | Ceredigion | 64.2/100 | £86 | £27,868 | £3,715 |
| 10 | Carmarthenshire / Sir Gaerfyrddin | 63/100 | £74 | £29,835 | £3,197 |
| 11 | Rhondda Cynon Taf | 62.9/100 | £76 | £28,454 | £3,283 |
| 12 | Caerphilly / Caerffili | 62.7/100 | £80 | £28,187 | £3,456 |
| 13 | Neath Port Talbot / Castell-nedd Port Talbot | 62.4/100 | £72 | £30,055 | £3,110 |
| 14 | Vale of Glamorgan / Bro Morgannwg | 62.1/100 | £91 | £28,528 | £3,931 |
| 15 | Bridgend / Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr | 61.4/100 | £85 | £30,377 | £3,672 |
| 16 | Torfaen / Tor-faen | 61.4/100 | £76 | £31,105 | £3,283 |
| 17 | Swansea / Abertawe | 61.1/100 | £86 | £31,348 | £3,715 |
| 18 | Wrexham / Wrecsam | 60.7/100 | £91 | £30,080 | £3,931 |
| 19 | Newport / Casnewydd | 60.5/100 | £82 | £32,340 | £3,542 |
| 20 | Flintshire / Sir y Fflint | 59.5/100 | £81 | £34,480 | £3,499 |
| 21 | Monmouthshire / Sir Fynwy | 57.3/100 | £124 | £32,805 | £5,357 |
| 22 | Cardiff / Caerdydd | 55.3/100 | £138 | £33,599 | £5,962 |
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest area for cafe premises in Wales?
- The lowest VOA rateable value for this property type in Wales is £57/m²/yr in Blaenau Gwent. On the combined Gera Business Location Score, which also weighs wages and demand, Gwynedd ranks #1.
- How much are business rates for cafe in Gwynedd?
- For a 100 m² unit in Gwynedd, business rates are roughly £2,678/yr at the 2026-27 small-business multiplier (43.2p), on top of about £6,200/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).