Best areas to open gym / fitness suite in South West
21 South 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 gym or fitness studio in South West?
In South West, the best area to open a gym or fitness studio is Torridge, with a Gera Business Location Score of 62.9/100: premises at £41/m²/yr and local median pay £26,745. Cheltenham ranks lowest of 21 South West authorities at 50.7/100. From 2025 UK government open data; re-dated annually.
Gera Business Location Score
Top South West area for gym / fitness suite: Torridge.
How this is calculatedSouth West ranked for gym / fitness suite
| # | Local authority | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Torridge | 62.9/100 | £41 | £26,745 | £1,771 |
| 2 | Torbay | 62.6/100 | £37 | £28,066 | £1,598 |
| 3 | Teignbridge | 62.5/100 | £38 | £28,636 | £1,642 |
| 4 | North Devon | 62.4/100 | £42 | £27,526 | £1,814 |
| 5 | West Devon | 62.2/100 | £43 | £28,161 | £1,858 |
| 6 | South Hams | 61.6/100 | £49 | £28,329 | £2,117 |
| 7 | Cornwall | 61.5/100 | £52 | £27,006 | £2,246 |
| 8 | Dorset | 61.4/100 | £47 | £29,292 | £2,030 |
| 9 | Somerset | 60.4/100 | £52 | £29,152 | £2,246 |
| 10 | North Somerset | 60.1/100 | £55 | £28,749 | £2,376 |
| 11 | Wiltshire | 59.7/100 | £55 | £30,000 | £2,376 |
| 12 | Mid Devon | 59.6/100 | £59 | £29,224 | £2,549 |
| 13 | Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole | 59.3/100 | £52 | £31,121 | £2,246 |
| 14 | Swindon | 59.2/100 | £41 | £32,933 | £1,771 |
| 15 | Plymouth | 58.9/100 | £53 | £30,346 | £2,290 |
| 16 | East Devon | 58.4/100 | £58 | £31,874 | £2,506 |
| 17 | Bath and North East Somerset | 56.6/100 | £70 | £32,004 | £3,024 |
| 18 | Exeter | 56.4/100 | £76 | £30,138 | £3,283 |
| 19 | South Gloucestershire | 55.8/100 | £53 | £36,920 | £2,290 |
| 20 | Bristol, City of | 54.3/100 | £67 | £36,652 | £2,894 |
| 21 | Cheltenham | 50.7/100 | £103 | £35,202 | £4,450 |
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest area for gym / fitness suite premises in South West?
- The lowest VOA rateable value for this property type in South West is £37/m²/yr in Torbay. On the combined Gera Business Location Score, which also weighs wages and demand, Torridge ranks #1.
- How much are business rates for gym / fitness suite in Torridge?
- For a 100 m² unit in Torridge, business rates are roughly £1,771/yr at the 2026-27 small-business multiplier (43.2p), on top of about £4,100/yr rent — before Small Business Rate Relief.
Opening a gym or fitness studio in South 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).