Best areas to open large distribution warehouse in North West
23 North 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 large distribution warehouse in North West?
In North West, the best area to open a large distribution warehouse is Burnley, with a Gera Business Location Score of 62.5/100: premises at £29/m²/yr and local median pay £27,128. Manchester ranks lowest of 23 North West authorities at 46.6/100. From 2025 UK government open data; re-dated annually.
Gera Business Location Score
Top North West area for large distribution warehouse: Burnley.
How this is calculatedNorth West ranked for large distribution warehouse
| # | Local authority | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burnley | 62.5/100 | £29 | £27,128 | £1,253 |
| 2 | West Lancashire | 58.9/100 | £50 | £28,909 | £2,160 |
| 3 | Wigan | 57.9/100 | £50 | £28,003 | £2,160 |
| 4 | Rochdale | 56.9/100 | £51 | £29,036 | £2,203 |
| 5 | Warrington | 56.8/100 | £50 | £34,719 | £2,160 |
| 6 | Bolton | 56.8/100 | £57 | £27,696 | £2,462 |
| 7 | Oldham | 56.7/100 | £50 | £27,990 | £2,160 |
| 8 | Halton | 56.5/100 | £56 | £32,465 | £2,419 |
| 9 | Knowsley | 56.5/100 | £43 | £32,181 | £1,858 |
| 10 | Hyndburn | 56.2/100 | £51 | £27,323 | £2,203 |
| 11 | Bury | 55.9/100 | £46 | £29,060 | £1,987 |
| 12 | Wirral | 55.3/100 | £44 | £28,840 | £1,901 |
| 13 | South Ribble | 54.7/100 | £54 | £30,126 | £2,333 |
| 14 | St. Helens | 54.4/100 | £60 | £28,468 | £2,592 |
| 15 | Cheshire West and Chester | 53.2/100 | £49 | £30,636 | £2,117 |
| 16 | Chorley | 53.1/100 | £54 | £29,415 | £2,333 |
| 17 | Tameside | 52.9/100 | £59 | £27,115 | £2,549 |
| 18 | Liverpool | 52.6/100 | £43 | £33,648 | £1,858 |
| 19 | Preston | 51.8/100 | £56 | £32,655 | £2,419 |
| 20 | Cheshire East | 50.2/100 | £55 | £33,200 | £2,376 |
| 21 | Trafford | 49.1/100 | £64 | £31,516 | £2,765 |
| 22 | Salford | 48.1/100 | £57 | £34,741 | £2,462 |
| 23 | Manchester | 46.6/100 | £55 | £36,554 | £2,376 |
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest area for large distribution warehouse premises in North West?
- The lowest VOA rateable value for this property type in North West is £29/m²/yr in Burnley. On the combined Gera Business Location Score, which also weighs wages and demand, Burnley ranks #1.
- How much are business rates for large distribution warehouse in Burnley?
- For a 100 m² unit in Burnley, business rates are roughly £1,253/yr at the 2026-27 small-business multiplier (43.2p), on top of about £2,900/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).