Best areas to open drive-thru restaurant in North East
12 North East local authorities ranked by the Gera Business Location Score — real rent, wages, rates and market density.
Where is the best place to open a drive-thru restaurant in North East?
In North East, the best area to open a drive-thru restaurant is Northumberland, with a Gera Business Location Score of 63/100: premises at £312/m²/yr and local median pay £27,769. Stockton-on-Tees ranks lowest of 12 North East authorities at 45.7/100. From 2025 UK government open data; re-dated annually.
Gera Business Location Score
Top North East area for drive-thru restaurant: Northumberland.
How this is calculatedNorth East ranked for drive-thru restaurant
| # | Local authority | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Northumberland | 63/100 | £312 | £27,769 | £13,478 |
| 2 | Hartlepool | 60/100 | £290 | £28,204 | £12,528 |
| 3 | South Tyneside | 59.2/100 | £305 | £25,490 | £13,176 |
| 4 | Sunderland | 57.2/100 | £305 | £28,214 | £13,176 |
| 5 | Redcar and Cleveland | 55.7/100 | £321 | £28,356 | £13,867 |
| 6 | Darlington | 53.1/100 | £325 | £29,692 | £14,040 |
| 7 | County Durham | 52.4/100 | £335 | £29,393 | £14,472 |
| 8 | Newcastle upon Tyne | 50.2/100 | £351 | £31,786 | £15,163 |
| 9 | Middlesbrough | 49.2/100 | £334 | £29,502 | £14,429 |
| 10 | North Tyneside | 48.4/100 | £361 | £29,311 | £15,595 |
| 11 | Gateshead | 47.7/100 | £356 | £28,507 | £15,379 |
| 12 | Stockton-on-Tees | 45.7/100 | £359 | £29,537 | £15,509 |
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest area for drive-thru restaurant premises in North East?
- The lowest VOA rateable value for this property type in North East is £290/m²/yr in Hartlepool. On the combined Gera Business Location Score, which also weighs wages and demand, Northumberland ranks #1.
- How much are business rates for drive-thru restaurant in Northumberland?
- For a 100 m² unit in Northumberland, business rates are roughly £13,478/yr at the 2026-27 small-business multiplier (43.2p), on top of about £31,200/yr rent — before Small Business Rate Relief.
Opening a drive-thru restaurant in North East?
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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).