Best UK areas to open hair & beauty salon
311 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 hair or beauty salon in 2026?
The best UK area to open a hair or beauty salon is Blaenau Gwent (Wales), with a Gera Business Location Score of 66.2/100: premises at £46/m²/yr and local median pay of £26,241. Westminster ranks lowest at 20.7/100. Ranked across 311 local authorities from 2025 government open data; re-dated annually.
Top 10 areas for hair & beauty salon
| # | Local authority | Region | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blaenau Gwent | Wales | 66.2/100 | £46 | £26,241 | £1,987 |
| 2 | Gwynedd | Wales | 65.1/100 | £69 | £25,217 | £2,981 |
| 3 | Hyndburn | North West | 64.6/100 | £58 | £27,323 | £2,506 |
| 4 | Pembrokeshire / Sir Benfro | Wales | 64.5/100 | £73 | £26,535 | £3,154 |
| 5 | South Tyneside | North East | 64/100 | £73 | £25,490 | £3,154 |
| 6 | Rossendale | North West | 64/100 | £66 | £27,288 | £2,851 |
| 7 | Great Yarmouth | East | 64/100 | £70 | £26,484 | £3,024 |
| 8 | Powys | Wales | 63.8/100 | £76 | £26,839 | £3,283 |
| 9 | Mansfield | East Midlands | 63.3/100 | £73 | £26,761 | £3,154 |
| 10 | Merthyr Tydfil / Merthyr Tudful | Wales | 63.3/100 | £67 | £27,843 | £2,894 |
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 hair or beauty salon within £2,000/month
- 1Blaenau GwentWalesGBLS 66.2≈ £439/mo
- 2GwyneddWalesGBLS 65.1≈ £659/mo
- 3HyndburnNorth WestGBLS 64.6≈ £554/mo
- 4Pembrokeshire / Sir BenfroWalesGBLS 64.5≈ £697/mo
- 5South TynesideNorth EastGBLS 64≈ £697/mo
- 6RossendaleNorth WestGBLS 64≈ £630/mo
- 7Great YarmouthEastGBLS 64≈ £668/mo
- 8PowysWalesGBLS 63.8≈ £726/mo
- 9MansfieldEast MidlandsGBLS 63.3≈ £697/mo
- 10Merthyr Tydfil / Merthyr TudfulWalesGBLS 63.3≈ £640/mo
- 11BassetlawEast MidlandsGBLS 63.1≈ £726/mo
- 12Denbighshire / Sir DdinbychWalesGBLS 63.1≈ £745/mo
- 13BlackpoolNorth WestGBLS 62.9≈ £726/mo
- 14BurnleyNorth WestGBLS 62.9≈ £706/mo
- 15Carmarthenshire / Sir GaerfyrddinWalesGBLS 62.9≈ £630/mo
Hair & beauty salon by region
Frequently asked questions
- Where is the cheapest place to open a hair or beauty salon in the UK?
- By premises cost alone, the lowest VOA rateable value among the 311 ranked areas is £46/m²/yr in Blaenau Gwent. But the Gera Business Location Score also weighs local wages and market demand: on the combined score, Blaenau Gwent ranks #1 at 66.2/100.
- How much is rent and business rates for hair & beauty salon premises in Blaenau Gwent?
- In Blaenau Gwent, the VOA rateable value for this property type is £46 per m² per year. For a 100 m² unit that is about £4,600/yr rent, plus roughly £1,987/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).