Best areas to open large food store in North West
33 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 food store in North West?
In North West, the best area to open a large food store is Blackpool, with a Gera Business Location Score of 63.8/100: premises at £145/m²/yr and local median pay £27,064. Halton ranks lowest of 33 North West authorities at 53.9/100. From 2025 UK government open data; re-dated annually.
Gera Business Location Score
Top North West area for large food store: Blackpool.
How this is calculatedNorth West ranked for large food store
| # | Local authority | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blackpool | 63.8/100 | £145 | £27,064 | £6,264 |
| 2 | Blackburn with Darwen | 63.1/100 | £138 | £30,572 | £5,962 |
| 3 | Bolton | 62.9/100 | £153 | £27,696 | £6,610 |
| 4 | Burnley | 62.8/100 | £139 | £27,128 | £6,005 |
| 5 | Wyre | 62.8/100 | £153 | £27,657 | £6,610 |
| 6 | Stockport | 61.6/100 | £152 | £28,296 | £6,566 |
| 7 | Tameside | 61.2/100 | £148 | £27,115 | £6,394 |
| 8 | Bury | 61/100 | £160 | £29,060 | £6,912 |
| 9 | Hyndburn | 61/100 | £153 | £27,323 | £6,610 |
| 10 | Oldham | 60.7/100 | £152 | £27,990 | £6,566 |
| 11 | Pendle | 60.6/100 | £159 | £28,099 | £6,869 |
| 12 | Lancaster | 59.8/100 | £147 | £29,091 | £6,350 |
| 13 | Rochdale | 59.7/100 | £158 | £29,036 | £6,826 |
| 14 | Westmorland and Furness | 59.6/100 | £155 | £32,683 | £6,696 |
| 15 | Wigan | 59.4/100 | £153 | £28,003 | £6,610 |
| 16 | Sefton | 59.3/100 | £173 | £27,006 | £7,474 |
| 17 | St. Helens | 58.7/100 | £160 | £28,468 | £6,912 |
| 18 | Chorley | 58.3/100 | £164 | £29,415 | £7,085 |
| 19 | Wirral | 58/100 | £164 | £28,840 | £7,085 |
| 20 | Cheshire West and Chester | 57.6/100 | £163 | £30,636 | £7,042 |
| 21 | Preston | 57.6/100 | £164 | £32,655 | £7,085 |
| 22 | Trafford | 57.5/100 | £181 | £31,516 | £7,819 |
| 23 | West Lancashire | 57.3/100 | £171 | £28,909 | £7,387 |
| 24 | South Ribble | 57/100 | £160 | £30,126 | £6,912 |
| 25 | Knowsley | 56.7/100 | £126 | £32,181 | £5,443 |
| 26 | Manchester | 56.6/100 | £147 | £36,554 | £6,350 |
| 27 | Cumberland | 56.4/100 | £143 | £34,890 | £6,178 |
| 28 | Liverpool | 56.2/100 | £149 | £33,648 | £6,437 |
| 29 | Salford | 55.2/100 | £146 | £34,741 | £6,307 |
| 30 | Cheshire East | 55.1/100 | £176 | £33,200 | £7,603 |
| 31 | Warrington | 54.2/100 | £161 | £34,719 | £6,955 |
| 32 | Fylde | 54/100 | £167 | £36,962 | £7,214 |
| 33 | Halton | 53.9/100 | £168 | £32,465 | £7,258 |
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest area for large food store premises in North West?
- The lowest VOA rateable value for this property type in North West is £126/m²/yr in Knowsley. On the combined Gera Business Location Score, which also weighs wages and demand, Blackpool ranks #1.
- How much are business rates for large food store in Blackpool?
- For a 100 m² unit in Blackpool, business rates are roughly £6,264/yr at the 2026-27 small-business multiplier (43.2p), on top of about £14,500/yr rent — before Small Business Rate Relief.
Opening a large food store in North 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).