Best areas to open office-based business 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 an office-based business in South East?
In South East, the best area to open an office-based business is Isle of Wight, with a Gera Business Location Score of 64.5/100: premises at £70/m²/yr and local median pay £26,185. Reading ranks lowest of 64 South East authorities at 41.7/100. From 2025 UK government open data; re-dated annually.
Gera Business Location Score
Top South East area for office-based business: Isle of Wight.
How this is calculatedSouth East ranked for office-based business
| # | Local authority | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Isle of Wight | 64.5/100 | £70 | £26,185 | £3,024 |
| 2 | Rother | 63.6/100 | £74 | £27,732 | £3,197 |
| 3 | Thanet | 63.3/100 | £79 | £27,076 | £3,413 |
| 4 | Eastbourne | 62.9/100 | £86 | £26,893 | £3,715 |
| 5 | Wealden | 62.2/100 | £94 | £27,639 | £4,061 |
| 6 | Arun | 61.9/100 | £95 | £27,461 | £4,104 |
| 7 | Hastings | 61.8/100 | £83 | £29,383 | £3,586 |
| 8 | Folkestone and Hythe | 60.5/100 | £84 | £31,907 | £3,629 |
| 9 | Worthing | 60.3/100 | £106 | £29,044 | £4,579 |
| 10 | Swale | 60.1/100 | £102 | £29,831 | £4,406 |
| 11 | Adur | 60.1/100 | £113 | £28,238 | £4,882 |
| 12 | Gosport | 59.9/100 | £98 | £30,518 | £4,234 |
| 13 | Havant | 59.7/100 | £103 | £30,573 | £4,450 |
| 14 | Dover | 59.7/100 | £96 | £31,547 | £4,147 |
| 15 | Canterbury | 59.4/100 | £115 | £29,337 | £4,968 |
| 16 | Medway | 59.2/100 | £106 | £30,784 | £4,579 |
| 17 | New Forest | 59.2/100 | £116 | £30,071 | £5,011 |
| 18 | Chichester | 59.1/100 | £129 | £28,547 | £5,573 |
| 19 | East Hampshire | 58.9/100 | £121 | £30,143 | £5,227 |
| 20 | Lewes | 58.3/100 | £112 | £32,287 | £4,838 |
| 21 | Ashford | 57.8/100 | £138 | £29,118 | £5,962 |
| 22 | Tandridge | 57.8/100 | £136 | £29,925 | £5,875 |
| 23 | Gravesham | 57.5/100 | £105 | £34,455 | £4,536 |
| 24 | Cherwell | 57.5/100 | £115 | £33,207 | £4,968 |
| 25 | Horsham | 57.5/100 | £124 | £32,334 | £5,357 |
| 26 | Mid Sussex | 57.5/100 | £129 | £31,401 | £5,573 |
| 27 | Fareham | 57.1/100 | £122 | £32,895 | £5,270 |
| 28 | Maidstone | 56.9/100 | £130 | £31,986 | £5,616 |
| 29 | Portsmouth | 56.8/100 | £122 | £33,015 | £5,270 |
| 30 | Test Valley | 56.2/100 | £130 | £33,566 | £5,616 |
| 31 | Tunbridge Wells | 55.8/100 | £161 | £30,296 | £6,955 |
| 32 | Hart | 55.7/100 | £156 | £30,973 | £6,739 |
| 33 | West Oxfordshire | 55.6/100 | £136 | £34,006 | £5,875 |
| 34 | Buckinghamshire | 55.5/100 | £143 | £33,367 | £6,178 |
| 35 | Sevenoaks | 55.1/100 | £180 | £28,537 | £7,776 |
| 36 | South Oxfordshire | 54.9/100 | £132 | £36,315 | £5,702 |
| 37 | Winchester | 54.7/100 | £147 | £34,568 | £6,350 |
| 38 | Milton Keynes | 54.5/100 | £131 | £36,521 | £5,659 |
| 39 | Waverley | 54.2/100 | £178 | £31,083 | £7,690 |
| 40 | Southampton | 54.1/100 | £151 | £33,878 | £6,523 |
| 41 | Basingstoke and Deane | 53.7/100 | £148 | £35,492 | £6,394 |
| 42 | Dartford | 53.7/100 | £167 | £32,428 | £7,214 |
| 43 | Brighton and Hove | 53.5/100 | £165 | £33,649 | £7,128 |
| 44 | Tonbridge and Malling | 53.5/100 | £179 | £31,472 | £7,733 |
| 45 | Eastleigh | 53.3/100 | £154 | £35,362 | £6,653 |
| 46 | Rushmoor | 52.9/100 | £165 | £34,238 | £7,128 |
| 47 | Epsom and Ewell | 52.9/100 | £173 | £33,824 | £7,474 |
| 48 | West Berkshire | 52.8/100 | £161 | £35,806 | £6,955 |
| 49 | Surrey Heath | 52.8/100 | £155 | £36,632 | £6,696 |
| 50 | Bracknell Forest | 51.8/100 | £161 | £37,063 | £6,955 |
| 51 | Elmbridge | 51.7/100 | £219 | £30,000 | £9,461 |
| 52 | Spelthorne | 51.4/100 | £199 | £32,237 | £8,597 |
| 53 | Crawley | 50.9/100 | £177 | £36,053 | £7,646 |
| 54 | Windsor and Maidenhead | 49.3/100 | £217 | £34,570 | £9,374 |
| 55 | Woking | 48.8/100 | £216 | £35,258 | £9,331 |
| 56 | Vale of White Horse | 48.6/100 | £198 | £38,134 | £8,554 |
| 57 | Oxford | 48.5/100 | £192 | £38,779 | £8,294 |
| 58 | Wokingham | 48.2/100 | £201 | £38,552 | £8,683 |
| 59 | Slough | 48/100 | £198 | £38,578 | £8,554 |
| 60 | Mole Valley | 47.9/100 | £201 | £39,893 | £8,683 |
| 61 | Reigate and Banstead | 47.9/100 | £201 | £39,073 | £8,683 |
| 62 | Guildford | 46.9/100 | £223 | £38,027 | £9,634 |
| 63 | Runnymede | 42/100 | £269 | £40,000 | £11,621 |
| 64 | Reading | 41.7/100 | £238 | £44,956 | £10,282 |
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest area for office-based business premises in South East?
- The lowest VOA rateable value for this property type in South East is £70/m²/yr in Isle of Wight. On the combined Gera Business Location Score, which also weighs wages and demand, Isle of Wight ranks #1.
- How much are business rates for office-based business in Isle of Wight?
- For a 100 m² unit in Isle of Wight, business rates are roughly £3,024/yr at the 2026-27 small-business multiplier (43.2p), on top of about £7,000/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).