Best areas to open large distribution warehouse in London
10 London local authorities ranked by the Gera Business Location Score — real rent, wages, rates and market density.
Where is the best place to open a large distribution warehouse in London?
In London, the best area to open a large distribution warehouse is Barking and Dagenham, with a Gera Business Location Score of 45.7/100: premises at £89/m²/yr and local median pay £32,433. Newham ranks lowest of 10 London authorities at 10/100. From 2025 UK government open data; re-dated annually.
Gera Business Location Score
Top London area for large distribution warehouse: Barking and Dagenham.
How this is calculatedLondon ranked for large distribution warehouse
| # | Local authority | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barking and Dagenham | 45.7/100 | £89 | £32,433 | £3,845 |
| 2 | Bexley | 37.1/100 | £112 | £27,441 | £4,838 |
| 3 | Enfield | 29.6/100 | £130 | £31,252 | £5,616 |
| 4 | Ealing | 25.3/100 | £136 | £33,592 | £5,875 |
| 5 | Sutton | 23.6/100 | £123 | £35,113 | £5,314 |
| 6 | Hillingdon | 21.2/100 | £160 | £37,941 | £6,912 |
| 7 | Croydon | 20.8/100 | £136 | £34,987 | £5,875 |
| 8 | Hounslow | 20.2/100 | £153 | £38,422 | £6,610 |
| 9 | Brent | 18.6/100 | £160 | £32,335 | £6,912 |
| 10 | Newham | 10/100 | £161 | £39,117 | £6,955 |
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest area for large distribution warehouse premises in London?
- The lowest VOA rateable value for this property type in London is £89/m²/yr in Barking and Dagenham. On the combined Gera Business Location Score, which also weighs wages and demand, Barking and Dagenham ranks #1.
- How much are business rates for large distribution warehouse in Barking and Dagenham?
- For a 100 m² unit in Barking and Dagenham, business rates are roughly £3,845/yr at the 2026-27 small-business multiplier (43.2p), on top of about £8,900/yr rent — before Small Business Rate Relief.
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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).