Best areas to open convenience store in North West
35 North 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 convenience store in North West?
In North West, the best area to open a convenience store is Pendle, with a Gera Business Location Score of 66.5/100: premises at £81/m²/yr and local median pay £28,099. Manchester ranks lowest of 35 North West authorities at 46.9/100. From 2025 UK government open data; re-dated annually.
Gera Business Location Score
Top North West area for convenience store: Pendle.
How this is calculatedNorth West ranked for convenience store
| # | Local authority | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pendle | 66.5/100 | £81 | £28,099 | £3,499 |
| 2 | Hyndburn | 65.6/100 | £88 | £27,323 | £3,802 |
| 3 | Burnley | 65.3/100 | £91 | £27,128 | £3,931 |
| 4 | Blackpool | 65/100 | £98 | £27,064 | £4,234 |
| 5 | Rossendale | 65/100 | £92 | £27,288 | £3,974 |
| 6 | Tameside | 64.8/100 | £93 | £27,115 | £4,018 |
| 7 | St. Helens | 64.7/100 | £88 | £28,468 | £3,802 |
| 8 | Wyre | 64.3/100 | £102 | £27,657 | £4,406 |
| 9 | Bolton | 64.2/100 | £103 | £27,696 | £4,450 |
| 10 | Blackburn with Darwen | 63.6/100 | £99 | £30,572 | £4,277 |
| 11 | Sefton | 63.4/100 | £105 | £27,006 | £4,536 |
| 12 | West Lancashire | 63/100 | £99 | £28,909 | £4,277 |
| 13 | Westmorland and Furness | 62.8/100 | £97 | £32,683 | £4,190 |
| 14 | Cumberland | 61.8/100 | £88 | £34,890 | £3,802 |
| 15 | Halton | 61.5/100 | £94 | £32,465 | £4,061 |
| 16 | Oldham | 61.4/100 | £116 | £27,990 | £5,011 |
| 17 | South Ribble | 61.2/100 | £106 | £30,126 | £4,579 |
| 18 | Wirral | 61.2/100 | £112 | £28,840 | £4,838 |
| 19 | Rochdale | 60.9/100 | £117 | £29,036 | £5,054 |
| 20 | Chorley | 60.8/100 | £115 | £29,415 | £4,968 |
| 21 | Preston | 60.7/100 | £109 | £32,655 | £4,709 |
| 22 | Warrington | 60.6/100 | £96 | £34,719 | £4,147 |
| 23 | Lancaster | 60.6/100 | £116 | £29,091 | £5,011 |
| 24 | Cheshire West and Chester | 60.3/100 | £115 | £30,636 | £4,968 |
| 25 | Knowsley | 60/100 | £101 | £32,181 | £4,363 |
| 26 | Bury | 59.9/100 | £129 | £29,060 | £5,573 |
| 27 | Fylde | 59.5/100 | £102 | £36,962 | £4,406 |
| 28 | Wigan | 59.4/100 | £127 | £28,003 | £5,486 |
| 29 | Stockport | 59.3/100 | £133 | £28,296 | £5,746 |
| 30 | Cheshire East | 58.9/100 | £118 | £33,200 | £5,098 |
| 31 | Ribble Valley | 58.3/100 | £95 | £41,474 | £4,104 |
| 32 | Liverpool | 58.2/100 | £117 | £33,648 | £5,054 |
| 33 | Trafford | 57.5/100 | £139 | £31,516 | £6,005 |
| 34 | Salford | 52.1/100 | £156 | £34,741 | £6,739 |
| 35 | Manchester | 46.9/100 | £195 | £36,554 | £8,424 |
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest area for convenience store premises in North West?
- The lowest VOA rateable value for this property type in North West is £81/m²/yr in Pendle. On the combined Gera Business Location Score, which also weighs wages and demand, Pendle ranks #1.
- How much are business rates for convenience store in Pendle?
- For a 100 m² unit in Pendle, business rates are roughly £3,499/yr at the 2026-27 small-business multiplier (43.2p), on top of about £8,100/yr rent — before Small Business Rate Relief.
Opening a convenience store in North West?
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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).