Best areas to open pharmacy in West Midlands
19 West Midlands local authorities ranked by the Gera Business Location Score — real rent, wages, rates and market density.
Where is the best place to open a pharmacy in West Midlands?
In West Midlands, the best area to open a pharmacy is Herefordshire, County of, with a Gera Business Location Score of 70/100: premises at £239/m²/yr and local median pay £28,366. Rugby ranks lowest of 19 West Midlands authorities at 24.2/100. From 2025 UK government open data; re-dated annually.
Gera Business Location Score
Top West Midlands area for pharmacy: Herefordshire, County of.
How this is calculatedWest Midlands ranked for pharmacy
| # | Local authority | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Herefordshire, County of | 70/100 | £239 | £28,366 | £10,325 |
| 2 | East Staffordshire | 69.6/100 | £168 | £31,048 | £7,258 |
| 3 | Sandwell | 67.5/100 | £180 | £28,766 | £7,776 |
| 4 | Stafford | 66.9/100 | £259 | £28,523 | £11,189 |
| 5 | Newcastle-under-Lyme | 60.9/100 | £296 | £27,238 | £12,787 |
| 6 | Stoke-on-Trent | 58.6/100 | £244 | £30,767 | £10,541 |
| 7 | Shropshire | 57.8/100 | £346 | £28,397 | £14,947 |
| 8 | Wolverhampton | 57.3/100 | £264 | £32,053 | £11,405 |
| 9 | Birmingham | 56.3/100 | £329 | £33,374 | £14,213 |
| 10 | Solihull | 53.3/100 | £379 | £35,794 | £16,373 |
| 11 | Walsall | 52.5/100 | £333 | £28,691 | £14,386 |
| 12 | Dudley | 50.2/100 | £340 | £29,071 | £14,688 |
| 13 | Worcester | 48.1/100 | £404 | £30,003 | £17,453 |
| 14 | Telford and Wrekin | 47.4/100 | £315 | £30,601 | £13,608 |
| 15 | Wyre Forest | 45/100 | £407 | £27,346 | £17,582 |
| 16 | Cannock Chase | 42.6/100 | £393 | £29,719 | £16,978 |
| 17 | Coventry | 40.9/100 | £345 | £35,124 | £14,904 |
| 18 | Stratford-on-Avon | 31.7/100 | £389 | £42,929 | £16,805 |
| 19 | Rugby | 24.2/100 | £490 | £36,417 | £21,168 |
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest area for pharmacy premises in West Midlands?
- The lowest VOA rateable value for this property type in West Midlands is £168/m²/yr in East Staffordshire. On the combined Gera Business Location Score, which also weighs wages and demand, Herefordshire, County of ranks #1.
- How much are business rates for pharmacy in Herefordshire, County of?
- For a 100 m² unit in Herefordshire, County of, business rates are roughly £10,325/yr at the 2026-27 small-business multiplier (43.2p), on top of about £23,900/yr rent — before Small Business Rate Relief.
Opening a pharmacy in West Midlands?
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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).