Best UK areas to open sports clubhouse
224 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 sports clubhouse in 2026?
The best UK area to open a sports clubhouse is Cotswold (South West), with a Gera Business Location Score of 77.8/100: premises at £15/m²/yr and local median pay of £29,655. Kingston upon Thames ranks lowest at 16.8/100. Ranked across 224 local authorities from 2025 government open data; re-dated annually.
Top 10 areas for sports clubhouse
| # | Local authority | Region | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cotswold | South West | 77.8/100 | £15 | £29,655 | £648 |
| 2 | North Northamptonshire | East Midlands | 75.7/100 | £21 | £31,027 | £907 |
| 3 | Elmbridge | South East | 71.9/100 | £15 | £30,000 | £648 |
| 4 | Babergh | East | 70.9/100 | £5 | £25,785 | £216 |
| 5 | Pembrokeshire / Sir Benfro | Wales | 67.8/100 | £16 | £26,535 | £691 |
| 6 | Powys | Wales | 65.8/100 | £15 | £26,839 | £648 |
| 7 | West Suffolk | East | 65.7/100 | £17 | £29,613 | £734 |
| 8 | Waverley | South East | 65.7/100 | £20 | £31,083 | £864 |
| 9 | Tandridge | South East | 65.2/100 | £17 | £29,925 | £734 |
| 10 | East Suffolk | East | 65.1/100 | £6 | £30,821 | £259 |
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 sports clubhouse within £2,000/month
- 1CotswoldSouth WestGBLS 77.8≈ £143/mo
- 2North NorthamptonshireEast MidlandsGBLS 75.7≈ £200/mo
- 3ElmbridgeSouth EastGBLS 71.9≈ £143/mo
- 4BaberghEastGBLS 70.9≈ £48/mo
- 5Pembrokeshire / Sir BenfroWalesGBLS 67.8≈ £153/mo
- 6PowysWalesGBLS 65.8≈ £143/mo
- 7West SuffolkEastGBLS 65.7≈ £162/mo
- 8WaverleySouth EastGBLS 65.7≈ £191/mo
- 9TandridgeSouth EastGBLS 65.2≈ £162/mo
- 10East SuffolkEastGBLS 65.1≈ £57/mo
- 11South TynesideNorth EastGBLS 64.8≈ £67/mo
- 12NorthumberlandNorth EastGBLS 64.3≈ £95/mo
- 13GwyneddWalesGBLS 64.2≈ £153/mo
- 14DacorumEastGBLS 63.9≈ £296/mo
- 15Isle of WightSouth EastGBLS 63.3≈ £162/mo
Sports clubhouse by region
Frequently asked questions
- Where is the cheapest place to open a sports clubhouse in the UK?
- By premises cost alone, the lowest VOA rateable value among the 224 ranked areas is £5/m²/yr in Babergh. But the Gera Business Location Score also weighs local wages and market demand: on the combined score, Cotswold ranks #1 at 77.8/100.
- How much is rent and business rates for sports clubhouse premises in Cotswold?
- In Cotswold, the VOA rateable value for this property type is £15 per m² per year. For a 100 m² unit that is about £1,500/yr rent, plus roughly £648/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).