Best UK areas to open farm shop
127 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 farm shop in 2026?
The best UK area to open a farm shop is South Hams (South West), with a Gera Business Location Score of 74.5/100: premises at £43/m²/yr and local median pay of £28,329. Basingstoke and Deane ranks lowest at 13/100. Ranked across 127 local authorities from 2025 government open data; re-dated annually.
Top 10 areas for farm shop
| # | Local authority | Region | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Hams | South West | 74.5/100 | £43 | £28,329 | £1,858 |
| 2 | Derbyshire Dales | East Midlands | 70.6/100 | £49 | £28,874 | £2,117 |
| 3 | Herefordshire, County of | West Midlands | 70.5/100 | £38 | £28,366 | £1,642 |
| 4 | Cotswold | South West | 69.8/100 | £60 | £29,655 | £2,592 |
| 5 | North Lincolnshire | Yorkshire and The Humber | 69.2/100 | £16 | £29,973 | £691 |
| 6 | East Lindsey | East Midlands | 69.1/100 | £55 | £26,724 | £2,376 |
| 7 | Wyre | North West | 67/100 | £47 | £27,657 | £2,030 |
| 8 | Boston | East Midlands | 66.4/100 | £42 | £26,187 | £1,814 |
| 9 | Shropshire | West Midlands | 66.4/100 | £39 | £28,397 | £1,685 |
| 10 | West Devon | South West | 66/100 | £51 | £28,161 | £2,203 |
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 farm shop within £2,000/month
- 1South HamsSouth WestGBLS 74.5≈ £411/mo
- 2Derbyshire DalesEast MidlandsGBLS 70.6≈ £468/mo
- 3Herefordshire, County ofWest MidlandsGBLS 70.5≈ £363/mo
- 4CotswoldSouth WestGBLS 69.8≈ £573/mo
- 5North LincolnshireYorkshire and The HumberGBLS 69.2≈ £153/mo
- 6East LindseyEast MidlandsGBLS 69.1≈ £525/mo
- 7WyreNorth WestGBLS 67≈ £449/mo
- 8BostonEast MidlandsGBLS 66.4≈ £401/mo
- 9ShropshireWest MidlandsGBLS 66.4≈ £372/mo
- 10West DevonSouth WestGBLS 66≈ £487/mo
- 11DorsetSouth WestGBLS 65.6≈ £468/mo
- 12FenlandEastGBLS 65.5≈ £363/mo
- 13North NorfolkEastGBLS 65.5≈ £687/mo
- 14North YorkshireYorkshire and The HumberGBLS 65.1≈ £449/mo
- 15KirkleesYorkshire and The HumberGBLS 65≈ £401/mo
Farm shop by region
Frequently asked questions
- Where is the cheapest place to open a farm shop in the UK?
- By premises cost alone, the lowest VOA rateable value among the 127 ranked areas is £16/m²/yr in North Lincolnshire. But the Gera Business Location Score also weighs local wages and market demand: on the combined score, South Hams ranks #1 at 74.5/100.
- How much is rent and business rates for farm shop premises in South Hams?
- In South Hams, the VOA rateable value for this property type is £43 per m² per year. For a 100 m² unit that is about £4,300/yr rent, plus roughly £1,858/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).