Best areas to open vehicle repair garage 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 vehicle repair garage in South West?
In South West, the best area to open a vehicle repair garage is Torridge, with a Gera Business Location Score of 89.2/100: premises at £39/m²/yr and local median pay £26,745. Bristol, City of ranks lowest of 26 South West authorities at 61.2/100. From 2025 UK government open data; re-dated annually.
Gera Business Location Score
Top South West area for vehicle repair garage: Torridge.
How this is calculatedSouth West ranked for vehicle repair garage
| # | Local authority | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Torridge | 89.2/100 | £39 | £26,745 | £1,685 |
| 2 | Mid Devon | 89.1/100 | £39 | £29,224 | £1,685 |
| 3 | North Devon | 88.7/100 | £41 | £27,526 | £1,771 |
| 4 | Forest of Dean | 87/100 | £47 | £25,387 | £2,030 |
| 5 | Teignbridge | 86/100 | £53 | £28,636 | £2,290 |
| 6 | Somerset | 84.3/100 | £38 | £29,152 | £1,642 |
| 7 | West Devon | 82.8/100 | £45 | £28,161 | £1,944 |
| 8 | Cornwall | 80.6/100 | £49 | £27,006 | £2,117 |
| 9 | East Devon | 80.6/100 | £50 | £31,874 | £2,160 |
| 10 | Dorset | 78.9/100 | £63 | £29,292 | £2,722 |
| 11 | Cotswold | 78.1/100 | £62 | £29,655 | £2,678 |
| 12 | South Hams | 77.7/100 | £61 | £28,329 | £2,635 |
| 13 | North Somerset | 75.1/100 | £69 | £28,749 | £2,981 |
| 14 | Wiltshire | 75/100 | £59 | £30,000 | £2,549 |
| 15 | Stroud | 72.9/100 | £63 | £32,495 | £2,722 |
| 16 | Torbay | 72.1/100 | £53 | £28,066 | £2,290 |
| 17 | Exeter | 71.8/100 | £55 | £30,138 | £2,376 |
| 18 | Swindon | 71.2/100 | £53 | £32,933 | £2,290 |
| 19 | Tewkesbury | 70.9/100 | £56 | £37,088 | £2,419 |
| 20 | Gloucester | 70.5/100 | £60 | £30,796 | £2,592 |
| 21 | Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole | 69.5/100 | £75 | £31,121 | £3,240 |
| 22 | Plymouth | 67.5/100 | £56 | £30,346 | £2,419 |
| 23 | South Gloucestershire | 64.9/100 | £76 | £36,920 | £3,283 |
| 24 | Bath and North East Somerset | 63.5/100 | £76 | £32,004 | £3,283 |
| 25 | Cheltenham | 62.4/100 | £83 | £35,202 | £3,586 |
| 26 | Bristol, City of | 61.2/100 | £64 | £36,652 | £2,765 |
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest area for vehicle repair garage premises in South West?
- The lowest VOA rateable value for this property type in South West is £38/m²/yr in Somerset. On the combined Gera Business Location Score, which also weighs wages and demand, Torridge ranks #1.
- How much are business rates for vehicle repair garage in Torridge?
- For a 100 m² unit in Torridge, business rates are roughly £1,685/yr at the 2026-27 small-business multiplier (43.2p), on top of about £3,900/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).