Best UK areas to open kennels & cattery
220 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 kennels or cattery in 2026?
The best UK area to open a kennels or cattery is Cotswold (South West), with a Gera Business Location Score of 84.5/100: premises at £16/m²/yr and local median pay of £29,655. Hillingdon ranks lowest at 12.2/100. Ranked across 220 local authorities from 2025 government open data; re-dated annually.
Top 10 areas for kennels & cattery
| # | Local authority | Region | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cotswold | South West | 84.5/100 | £16 | £29,655 | £691 |
| 2 | North Northamptonshire | East Midlands | 83.3/100 | £19 | £31,027 | £821 |
| 3 | Powys | Wales | 78.3/100 | £11 | £26,839 | £475 |
| 4 | Pembrokeshire / Sir Benfro | Wales | 76.4/100 | £16 | £26,535 | £691 |
| 5 | Gwynedd | Wales | 73.2/100 | £16 | £25,217 | £691 |
| 6 | Conwy | Wales | 72.1/100 | £14 | £26,961 | £605 |
| 7 | Bromsgrove | West Midlands | 67.9/100 | £26 | £27,494 | £1,123 |
| 8 | Derbyshire Dales | East Midlands | 67.7/100 | £23 | £28,874 | £994 |
| 9 | Denbighshire / Sir Ddinbych | Wales | 67.6/100 | £17 | £27,011 | £734 |
| 10 | Ceredigion | Wales | 67.3/100 | £16 | £27,868 | £691 |
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 kennels or cattery within £2,000/month
- 1CotswoldSouth WestGBLS 84.5≈ £153/mo
- 2North NorthamptonshireEast MidlandsGBLS 83.3≈ £181/mo
- 3PowysWalesGBLS 78.3≈ £105/mo
- 4Pembrokeshire / Sir BenfroWalesGBLS 76.4≈ £153/mo
- 5GwyneddWalesGBLS 73.2≈ £153/mo
- 6ConwyWalesGBLS 72.1≈ £134/mo
- 7BromsgroveWest MidlandsGBLS 67.9≈ £248/mo
- 8Derbyshire DalesEast MidlandsGBLS 67.7≈ £220/mo
- 9Denbighshire / Sir DdinbychWalesGBLS 67.6≈ £162/mo
- 10CeredigionWalesGBLS 67.3≈ £153/mo
- 11ShropshireWest MidlandsGBLS 66.3≈ £172/mo
- 12MaldonEastGBLS 66.2≈ £229/mo
- 13West SuffolkEastGBLS 66.2≈ £229/mo
- 14Carmarthenshire / Sir GaerfyrddinWalesGBLS 65.8≈ £143/mo
- 15Caerphilly / CaerffiliWalesGBLS 65.8≈ £124/mo
Kennels & cattery by region
Frequently asked questions
- Where is the cheapest place to open a kennels or cattery in the UK?
- By premises cost alone, the lowest VOA rateable value among the 220 ranked areas is £10/m²/yr in Flintshire / Sir y Fflint. But the Gera Business Location Score also weighs local wages and market demand: on the combined score, Cotswold ranks #1 at 84.5/100.
- How much is rent and business rates for kennels & cattery premises in Cotswold?
- In Cotswold, the VOA rateable value for this property type is £16 per m² per year. For a 100 m² unit that is about £1,600/yr rent, plus roughly £691/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).