Best UK areas to open vehicle repair garage
311 local authorities ranked by the Gera Business Location Score — real commercial rent, local wages, business rates and market density.
Which UK areas are best for opening a vehicle repair garage in 2026?
The best UK area to open a vehicle repair garage is Boston (East Midlands), with a Gera Business Location Score of 92.4/100: premises at £32/m²/yr and local median pay of £26,187. Westminster ranks lowest at 11.1/100. Ranked across 311 local authorities from 2025 government open data; re-dated annually.
Top 10 areas for vehicle repair garage
| # | Local authority | Region | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston | East Midlands | 92.4/100 | £32 | £26,187 | £1,382 |
| 2 | Powys | Wales | 92/100 | £27 | £26,839 | £1,166 |
| 3 | Torridge | South West | 89.2/100 | £39 | £26,745 | £1,685 |
| 4 | Mid Devon | South West | 89.1/100 | £39 | £29,224 | £1,685 |
| 5 | North Lincolnshire | Yorkshire and The Humber | 88.9/100 | £30 | £29,973 | £1,296 |
| 6 | North Devon | South West | 88.7/100 | £41 | £27,526 | £1,771 |
| 7 | Ceredigion | Wales | 88.7/100 | £30 | £27,868 | £1,296 |
| 8 | South Holland | East Midlands | 88.4/100 | £37 | £27,809 | £1,598 |
| 9 | Maldon | East | 87/100 | £54 | £25,496 | £2,333 |
| 10 | Forest of Dean | South West | 87/100 | £47 | £25,387 | £2,030 |
Filter by your budget
Set a premises size and monthly budget to shortlist the areas that fit.
Budget covers estimated annual rent (VOA rateable value × floor area) plus the 2026-27 small-business rates bill (43.2p multiplier), spread over 12 months. Real reliefs (e.g. Small Business Rate Relief) can reduce the rates portion further.
Best areas to open a vehicle repair garage within £2,000/month
- 1BostonEast MidlandsGBLS 92.4≈ £305/mo
- 2PowysWalesGBLS 92≈ £258/mo
- 3TorridgeSouth WestGBLS 89.2≈ £372/mo
- 4Mid DevonSouth WestGBLS 89.1≈ £372/mo
- 5North LincolnshireYorkshire and The HumberGBLS 88.9≈ £286/mo
- 6North DevonSouth WestGBLS 88.7≈ £391/mo
- 7CeredigionWalesGBLS 88.7≈ £286/mo
- 8South HollandEast MidlandsGBLS 88.4≈ £353/mo
- 9MaldonEastGBLS 87≈ £516/mo
- 10Forest of DeanSouth WestGBLS 87≈ £449/mo
- 11East LindseyEast MidlandsGBLS 86.7≈ £305/mo
- 12Carmarthenshire / Sir GaerfyrddinWalesGBLS 86.5≈ £248/mo
- 13Herefordshire, County ofWest MidlandsGBLS 86.1≈ £401/mo
- 14TeignbridgeSouth WestGBLS 86≈ £506/mo
- 15ShropshireWest MidlandsGBLS 85.9≈ £391/mo
Vehicle repair garage by region
Frequently asked questions
- Where is the cheapest place to open a vehicle repair garage in the UK?
- By premises cost alone, the lowest VOA rateable value among the 311 ranked areas is £16/m²/yr in North West Leicestershire. But the Gera Business Location Score also weighs local wages and market demand: on the combined score, Boston ranks #1 at 92.4/100.
- How much is rent and business rates for vehicle repair garage premises in Boston?
- In Boston, the VOA rateable value for this property type is £32 per m² per year. For a 100 m² unit that is about £3,200/yr rent, plus roughly £1,382/yr business rates at the 2026-27 small-business multiplier (43.2p) — before any Small Business Rate Relief.
- What data is this based on?
- VOA Non-Domestic Rating Business Floorspace (rateable value per m², 31 March 2025), ONS UK Business Counts 2025 (market density), ONS ASHE 2025 (local wages) and ONS mid-2024 population — all Open Government Licence v3.0, joined on the ONS local-authority code.
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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).