Best areas to open members / social club in South East
64 South East local authorities ranked by the Gera Business Location Score — real rent, wages, rates and market density.
Where is the best place to open a licensed members or social club in South East?
In South East, the best area to open a licensed members or social club is Rother, with a Gera Business Location Score of 65.2/100: premises at £32/m²/yr and local median pay £27,732. Reading ranks lowest of 64 South East authorities at 55.4/100. From 2025 UK government open data; re-dated annually.
Gera Business Location Score
Top South East area for members / social club: Rother.
How this is calculatedSouth East ranked for members / social club
| # | Local authority | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rother | 65.2/100 | £32 | £27,732 | £1,382 |
| 2 | Thanet | 65/100 | £34 | £27,076 | £1,469 |
| 3 | Wealden | 64.9/100 | £36 | £27,639 | £1,555 |
| 4 | Eastbourne | 64.7/100 | £38 | £26,893 | £1,642 |
| 5 | Isle of Wight | 64.6/100 | £43 | £26,185 | £1,858 |
| 6 | Adur | 64.6/100 | £32 | £28,238 | £1,382 |
| 7 | Elmbridge | 64.4/100 | £37 | £30,000 | £1,598 |
| 8 | Chichester | 64.3/100 | £40 | £28,547 | £1,728 |
| 9 | Tandridge | 64.1/100 | £35 | £29,925 | £1,512 |
| 10 | Arun | 64/100 | £39 | £27,461 | £1,685 |
| 11 | Worthing | 63.9/100 | £34 | £29,044 | £1,469 |
| 12 | Hastings | 63.8/100 | £32 | £29,383 | £1,382 |
| 13 | Canterbury | 63.7/100 | £34 | £29,337 | £1,469 |
| 14 | Waverley | 63.7/100 | £37 | £31,083 | £1,598 |
| 15 | Sevenoaks | 63.6/100 | £43 | £28,537 | £1,858 |
| 16 | Tunbridge Wells | 63.6/100 | £34 | £30,296 | £1,469 |
| 17 | Ashford | 63.5/100 | £36 | £29,118 | £1,555 |
| 18 | East Hampshire | 63.4/100 | £37 | £30,143 | £1,598 |
| 19 | New Forest | 63.3/100 | £39 | £30,071 | £1,685 |
| 20 | Lewes | 63.1/100 | £31 | £32,287 | £1,339 |
| 21 | Havant | 63/100 | £34 | £30,573 | £1,469 |
| 22 | Mid Sussex | 63/100 | £34 | £31,401 | £1,469 |
| 23 | Swale | 62.9/100 | £34 | £29,831 | £1,469 |
| 24 | Spelthorne | 62.2/100 | £35 | £32,237 | £1,512 |
| 25 | Dover | 62/100 | £36 | £31,547 | £1,555 |
| 26 | Folkestone and Hythe | 62/100 | £36 | £31,907 | £1,555 |
| 27 | Windsor and Maidenhead | 61.9/100 | £34 | £34,570 | £1,469 |
| 28 | West Oxfordshire | 61.9/100 | £34 | £34,006 | £1,469 |
| 29 | Horsham | 61.9/100 | £41 | £32,334 | £1,771 |
| 30 | Buckinghamshire | 61.8/100 | £37 | £33,367 | £1,598 |
| 31 | Medway | 61.8/100 | £39 | £30,784 | £1,685 |
| 32 | Gosport | 61.8/100 | £41 | £30,518 | £1,771 |
| 33 | Brighton and Hove | 61.7/100 | £39 | £33,649 | £1,685 |
| 34 | Fareham | 61.6/100 | £38 | £32,895 | £1,642 |
| 35 | Maidstone | 61.6/100 | £39 | £31,986 | £1,685 |
| 36 | Epsom and Ewell | 61.6/100 | £34 | £33,824 | £1,469 |
| 37 | Hart | 61.5/100 | £47 | £30,973 | £2,030 |
| 38 | Test Valley | 61.3/100 | £35 | £33,566 | £1,512 |
| 39 | Winchester | 61.3/100 | £36 | £34,568 | £1,555 |
| 40 | Tonbridge and Malling | 61.3/100 | £45 | £31,472 | £1,944 |
| 41 | Dartford | 61/100 | £40 | £32,428 | £1,728 |
| 42 | Portsmouth | 60.7/100 | £40 | £33,015 | £1,728 |
| 43 | Southampton | 60.7/100 | £34 | £33,878 | £1,469 |
| 44 | Gravesham | 60.7/100 | £35 | £34,455 | £1,512 |
| 45 | West Berkshire | 60.6/100 | £39 | £35,806 | £1,685 |
| 46 | Cherwell | 60.4/100 | £45 | £33,207 | £1,944 |
| 47 | Woking | 60.4/100 | £39 | £35,258 | £1,685 |
| 48 | Basingstoke and Deane | 60.3/100 | £34 | £35,492 | £1,469 |
| 49 | Rushmoor | 60.3/100 | £38 | £34,238 | £1,642 |
| 50 | Eastleigh | 60.2/100 | £38 | £35,362 | £1,642 |
| 51 | Surrey Heath | 60.1/100 | £38 | £36,632 | £1,642 |
| 52 | South Oxfordshire | 60/100 | £40 | £36,315 | £1,728 |
| 53 | Milton Keynes | 59.9/100 | £33 | £36,521 | £1,426 |
| 54 | Mole Valley | 59.6/100 | £32 | £39,893 | £1,382 |
| 55 | Guildford | 59.4/100 | £35 | £38,027 | £1,512 |
| 56 | Vale of White Horse | 59.1/100 | £36 | £38,134 | £1,555 |
| 57 | Reigate and Banstead | 59/100 | £33 | £39,073 | £1,426 |
| 58 | Slough | 58.8/100 | £29 | £38,578 | £1,253 |
| 59 | Bracknell Forest | 58.5/100 | £42 | £37,063 | £1,814 |
| 60 | Crawley | 58.4/100 | £44 | £36,053 | £1,901 |
| 61 | Runnymede | 58.3/100 | £34 | £40,000 | £1,469 |
| 62 | Wokingham | 57.6/100 | £44 | £38,552 | £1,901 |
| 63 | Oxford | 57.6/100 | £42 | £38,779 | £1,814 |
| 64 | Reading | 55.4/100 | £40 | £44,956 | £1,728 |
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest area for members / social club premises in South East?
- The lowest VOA rateable value for this property type in South East is £29/m²/yr in Slough. On the combined Gera Business Location Score, which also weighs wages and demand, Rother ranks #1.
- How much are business rates for members / social club in Rother?
- For a 100 m² unit in Rother, business rates are roughly £1,382/yr at the 2026-27 small-business multiplier (43.2p), on top of about £3,200/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).