Best areas to open office-based business in South West
26 South West 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 West?
In South West, the best area to open an office-based business is Torridge, with a Gera Business Location Score of 65.2/100: premises at £57/m²/yr and local median pay £26,745. Bristol, City of ranks lowest of 26 South West authorities at 51.6/100. From 2025 UK government open data; re-dated annually.
Gera Business Location Score
Top South West area for office-based business: Torridge.
How this is calculatedSouth West ranked for office-based business
| # | Local authority | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Torridge | 65.2/100 | £57 | £26,745 | £2,462 |
| 2 | Forest of Dean | 65/100 | £70 | £25,387 | £3,024 |
| 3 | Torbay | 63.7/100 | £67 | £28,066 | £2,894 |
| 4 | North Devon | 63.2/100 | £78 | £27,526 | £3,370 |
| 5 | Cornwall | 62.9/100 | £85 | £27,006 | £3,672 |
| 6 | Mid Devon | 62.8/100 | £72 | £29,224 | £3,110 |
| 7 | West Devon | 62.7/100 | £81 | £28,161 | £3,499 |
| 8 | South Hams | 62/100 | £91 | £28,329 | £3,931 |
| 9 | Teignbridge | 62/100 | £87 | £28,636 | £3,758 |
| 10 | Dorset | 61.7/100 | £87 | £29,292 | £3,758 |
| 11 | Somerset | 61.6/100 | £89 | £29,152 | £3,845 |
| 12 | Stroud | 61.4/100 | £72 | £32,495 | £3,110 |
| 13 | Plymouth | 60.3/100 | £94 | £30,346 | £4,061 |
| 14 | Cotswold | 60.2/100 | £110 | £29,655 | £4,752 |
| 15 | Gloucester | 60.2/100 | £93 | £30,796 | £4,018 |
| 16 | Wiltshire | 60.1/100 | £104 | £30,000 | £4,493 |
| 17 | North Somerset | 59.9/100 | £113 | £28,749 | £4,882 |
| 18 | Exeter | 59/100 | £114 | £30,138 | £4,925 |
| 19 | East Devon | 58.6/100 | £109 | £31,874 | £4,709 |
| 20 | Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole | 58.2/100 | £118 | £31,121 | £5,098 |
| 21 | Swindon | 57.4/100 | £115 | £32,933 | £4,968 |
| 22 | Tewkesbury | 55.6/100 | £114 | £37,088 | £4,925 |
| 23 | Cheltenham | 55/100 | £136 | £35,202 | £5,875 |
| 24 | Bath and North East Somerset | 54.7/100 | £160 | £32,004 | £6,912 |
| 25 | South Gloucestershire | 53/100 | £147 | £36,920 | £6,350 |
| 26 | Bristol, City of | 51.6/100 | £167 | £36,652 | £7,214 |
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest area for office-based business premises in South West?
- The lowest VOA rateable value for this property type in South West is £57/m²/yr in Torridge. On the combined Gera Business Location Score, which also weighs wages and demand, Torridge ranks #1.
- How much are business rates for office-based business in Torridge?
- For a 100 m² unit in Torridge, business rates are roughly £2,462/yr at the 2026-27 small-business multiplier (43.2p), on top of about £5,700/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).