Best areas to open farm shop in South East
32 South 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 farm shop in South East?
In South East, the best area to open a farm shop is Isle of Wight, with a Gera Business Location Score of 61.3/100: premises at £62/m²/yr and local median pay £26,185. Basingstoke and Deane ranks lowest of 32 South East authorities at 13/100. From 2025 UK government open data; re-dated annually.
South East ranked for farm shop
| # | Local authority | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Isle of Wight | 61.3/100 | £62 | £26,185 | £2,678 |
| 2 | Rother | 60.5/100 | £66 | £27,732 | £2,851 |
| 3 | Arun | 59.3/100 | £57 | £27,461 | £2,462 |
| 4 | Wealden | 58.2/100 | £68 | £27,639 | £2,938 |
| 5 | Chichester | 57.8/100 | £78 | £28,547 | £3,370 |
| 6 | Ashford | 56.4/100 | £64 | £29,118 | £2,765 |
| 7 | Mid Sussex | 55.9/100 | £52 | £31,401 | £2,246 |
| 8 | Cherwell | 54.3/100 | £56 | £33,207 | £2,419 |
| 9 | Tunbridge Wells | 54/100 | £79 | £30,296 | £3,413 |
| 10 | Tandridge | 53.7/100 | £62 | £29,925 | £2,678 |
| 11 | Maidstone | 53.6/100 | £54 | £31,986 | £2,333 |
| 12 | Lewes | 52/100 | £64 | £32,287 | £2,765 |
| 13 | Winchester | 52/100 | £118 | £34,568 | £5,098 |
| 14 | Horsham | 50.4/100 | £65 | £32,334 | £2,808 |
| 15 | Buckinghamshire | 50/100 | £61 | £33,367 | £2,635 |
| 16 | Tonbridge and Malling | 48.8/100 | £61 | £31,472 | £2,635 |
| 17 | New Forest | 48.1/100 | £92 | £30,071 | £3,974 |
| 18 | Canterbury | 47.8/100 | £87 | £29,337 | £3,758 |
| 19 | Swale | 46.9/100 | £73 | £29,831 | £3,154 |
| 20 | Hart | 46.5/100 | £66 | £30,973 | £2,851 |
| 21 | Dover | 46.1/100 | £77 | £31,547 | £3,326 |
| 22 | East Hampshire | 43.8/100 | £93 | £30,143 | £4,018 |
| 23 | Sevenoaks | 43.1/100 | £101 | £28,537 | £4,363 |
| 24 | Test Valley | 41/100 | £81 | £33,566 | £3,499 |
| 25 | South Oxfordshire | 41/100 | £74 | £36,315 | £3,197 |
| 26 | Medway | 36.8/100 | £100 | £30,784 | £4,320 |
| 27 | Vale of White Horse | 35.4/100 | £70 | £38,134 | £3,024 |
| 28 | West Berkshire | 34.6/100 | £87 | £35,806 | £3,758 |
| 29 | Mole Valley | 31.8/100 | £99 | £39,893 | £4,277 |
| 30 | Bracknell Forest | 28.5/100 | £94 | £37,063 | £4,061 |
| 31 | Wokingham | 21/100 | £110 | £38,552 | £4,752 |
| 32 | Basingstoke and Deane | 13/100 | £147 | £35,492 | £6,350 |
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest area for farm shop premises in South East?
- The lowest VOA rateable value for this property type in South East is £52/m²/yr in Mid Sussex. On the combined Gera Business Location Score, which also weighs wages and demand, Isle of Wight ranks #1.
- How much are business rates for farm shop in Isle of Wight?
- For a 100 m² unit in Isle of Wight, business rates are roughly £2,678/yr at the 2026-27 small-business multiplier (43.2p), on top of about £6,200/yr rent — before Small Business Rate Relief.
Opening a farm shop in South 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).