Best UK areas to open members / social club
312 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 licensed members or social club in 2026?
The best UK area to open a licensed members or social club is Dacorum (East), with a Gera Business Location Score of 69.9/100: premises at £33/m²/yr and local median pay of £18,675. Westminster ranks lowest at 20.7/100. Ranked across 312 local authorities from 2025 government open data; re-dated annually.
Top 10 areas for members / social club
| # | Local authority | Region | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dacorum | East | 69.9/100 | £33 | £18,675 | £1,426 |
| 2 | Gwynedd | Wales | 67.1/100 | £24 | £25,217 | £1,037 |
| 3 | Oadby and Wigston | East Midlands | 66.9/100 | £31 | £23,103 | £1,339 |
| 4 | Powys | Wales | 66.7/100 | £23 | £26,839 | £994 |
| 5 | South Tyneside | North East | 66.5/100 | £23 | £25,490 | £994 |
| 6 | Babergh | East | 66.5/100 | £26 | £25,785 | £1,123 |
| 7 | North Northamptonshire | East Midlands | 66.3/100 | £23 | £31,027 | £994 |
| 8 | Bromsgrove | West Midlands | 66.1/100 | £29 | £27,494 | £1,253 |
| 9 | Rossendale | North West | 66/100 | £21 | £27,288 | £907 |
| 10 | Pembrokeshire / Sir Benfro | Wales | 66/100 | £32 | £26,535 | £1,382 |
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 licensed members or social club within £2,000/month
- 1DacorumEastGBLS 69.9≈ £315/mo
- 2GwyneddWalesGBLS 67.1≈ £229/mo
- 3Oadby and WigstonEast MidlandsGBLS 66.9≈ £296/mo
- 4PowysWalesGBLS 66.7≈ £220/mo
- 5South TynesideNorth EastGBLS 66.5≈ £220/mo
- 6BaberghEastGBLS 66.5≈ £248/mo
- 7North NorthamptonshireEast MidlandsGBLS 66.3≈ £220/mo
- 8BromsgroveWest MidlandsGBLS 66.1≈ £277/mo
- 9RossendaleNorth WestGBLS 66≈ £200/mo
- 10Pembrokeshire / Sir BenfroWalesGBLS 66≈ £305/mo
- 11Forest of DeanSouth WestGBLS 65.8≈ £315/mo
- 12ConwyWalesGBLS 65.8≈ £258/mo
- 13NorthumberlandNorth EastGBLS 65.7≈ £229/mo
- 14BurnleyNorth WestGBLS 65.7≈ £210/mo
- 15RochfordEastGBLS 65.6≈ £286/mo
Members / social club by region
Frequently asked questions
- Where is the cheapest place to open a licensed members or social club in the UK?
- By premises cost alone, the lowest VOA rateable value among the 312 ranked areas is £20/m²/yr in Pendle. But the Gera Business Location Score also weighs local wages and market demand: on the combined score, Dacorum ranks #1 at 69.9/100.
- How much is rent and business rates for members / social club premises in Dacorum?
- In Dacorum, the VOA rateable value for this property type is £33 per m² per year. For a 100 m² unit that is about £3,300/yr rent, plus roughly £1,426/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).