Best areas to open convenience store 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 convenience store in Wales?
In Wales, the best area to open a convenience store is Blaenau Gwent, with a Gera Business Location Score of 66.1/100: premises at £84/m²/yr and local median pay £26,241. Cardiff / Caerdydd ranks lowest of 22 Wales authorities at 55.8/100. From 2025 UK government open data; re-dated annually.
Gera Business Location Score
Top Wales area for convenience store: Blaenau Gwent.
How this is calculatedWales ranked for convenience store
| # | Local authority | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blaenau Gwent | 66.1/100 | £84 | £26,241 | £3,629 |
| 2 | Gwynedd | 66/100 | £98 | £25,217 | £4,234 |
| 3 | Rhondda Cynon Taf | 65.7/100 | £79 | £28,454 | £3,413 |
| 4 | Merthyr Tydfil / Merthyr Tudful | 65.3/100 | £86 | £27,843 | £3,715 |
| 5 | Ceredigion | 65.2/100 | £98 | £27,868 | £4,234 |
| 6 | Pembrokeshire / Sir Benfro | 65/100 | £100 | £26,535 | £4,320 |
| 7 | Powys | 64.7/100 | £103 | £26,839 | £4,450 |
| 8 | Torfaen / Tor-faen | 64.3/100 | £79 | £31,105 | £3,413 |
| 9 | Bridgend / Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr | 63.4/100 | £92 | £30,377 | £3,974 |
| 10 | Conwy | 63.1/100 | £115 | £26,961 | £4,968 |
| 11 | Denbighshire / Sir Ddinbych | 63.1/100 | £110 | £27,011 | £4,752 |
| 12 | Carmarthenshire / Sir Gaerfyrddin | 62.9/100 | £100 | £29,835 | £4,320 |
| 13 | Neath Port Talbot / Castell-nedd Port Talbot | 62.7/100 | £93 | £30,055 | £4,018 |
| 14 | Caerphilly / Caerffili | 62.6/100 | £101 | £28,187 | £4,363 |
| 15 | Isle of Anglesey / Ynys Môn | 61.9/100 | £107 | £29,867 | £4,622 |
| 16 | Vale of Glamorgan / Bro Morgannwg | 61.9/100 | £108 | £28,528 | £4,666 |
| 17 | Wrexham / Wrecsam | 61.2/100 | £105 | £30,080 | £4,536 |
| 18 | Flintshire / Sir y Fflint | 60.4/100 | £98 | £34,480 | £4,234 |
| 19 | Monmouthshire / Sir Fynwy | 58.9/100 | £120 | £32,805 | £5,184 |
| 20 | Swansea / Abertawe | 58.7/100 | £120 | £31,348 | £5,184 |
| 21 | Newport / Casnewydd | 57.5/100 | £125 | £32,340 | £5,400 |
| 22 | Cardiff / Caerdydd | 55.8/100 | £134 | £33,599 | £5,789 |
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest area for convenience store premises in Wales?
- The lowest VOA rateable value for this property type in Wales is £79/m²/yr in Rhondda Cynon Taf. On the combined Gera Business Location Score, which also weighs wages and demand, Blaenau Gwent ranks #1.
- How much are business rates for convenience store in Blaenau Gwent?
- For a 100 m² unit in Blaenau Gwent, business rates are roughly £3,629/yr at the 2026-27 small-business multiplier (43.2p), on top of about £8,400/yr rent — before Small Business Rate Relief.
Opening a convenience store in Wales?
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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).