Best areas to open restaurant in East Midlands
35 East 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 restaurant in East Midlands?
In East Midlands, the best area to open a restaurant is Oadby and Wigston, with a Gera Business Location Score of 65.5/100: premises at £71/m²/yr and local median pay £23,103. Blaby ranks lowest of 35 East Midlands authorities at 42.7/100. From 2025 UK government open data; re-dated annually.
Gera Business Location Score
Top East Midlands area for restaurant: Oadby and Wigston.
How this is calculatedEast Midlands ranked for restaurant
| # | Local authority | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oadby and Wigston | 65.5/100 | £71 | £23,103 | £3,067 |
| 2 | East Lindsey | 64.5/100 | £84 | £26,724 | £3,629 |
| 3 | Bassetlaw | 63.8/100 | £74 | £26,888 | £3,197 |
| 4 | Derbyshire Dales | 63.5/100 | £95 | £28,874 | £4,104 |
| 5 | Erewash | 63.2/100 | £67 | £29,102 | £2,894 |
| 6 | Mansfield | 62.9/100 | £82 | £26,761 | £3,542 |
| 7 | South Kesteven | 62.8/100 | £76 | £28,724 | £3,283 |
| 8 | Newark and Sherwood | 62.5/100 | £90 | £26,911 | £3,888 |
| 9 | South Holland | 62.2/100 | £82 | £27,809 | £3,542 |
| 10 | Broxtowe | 62.2/100 | £89 | £27,113 | £3,845 |
| 11 | Gedling | 61.9/100 | £98 | £26,135 | £4,234 |
| 12 | High Peak | 61.8/100 | £96 | £28,463 | £4,147 |
| 13 | Melton | 61.8/100 | £102 | £26,700 | £4,406 |
| 14 | Boston | 61.5/100 | £104 | £26,187 | £4,493 |
| 15 | Ashfield | 61.4/100 | £84 | £29,136 | £3,629 |
| 16 | North East Derbyshire | 61.3/100 | £83 | £29,544 | £3,586 |
| 17 | North West Leicestershire | 61.3/100 | £84 | £30,034 | £3,629 |
| 18 | North Northamptonshire | 60.9/100 | £79 | £31,027 | £3,413 |
| 19 | Bolsover | 60.7/100 | £85 | £30,441 | £3,672 |
| 20 | Amber Valley | 60.6/100 | £88 | £31,100 | £3,802 |
| 21 | North Kesteven | 60.2/100 | £96 | £29,941 | £4,147 |
| 22 | West Lindsey | 60.2/100 | £96 | £30,000 | £4,147 |
| 23 | South Derbyshire | 59.9/100 | £79 | £32,938 | £3,413 |
| 24 | Chesterfield | 59.6/100 | £102 | £30,962 | £4,406 |
| 25 | Leicester | 59.5/100 | £109 | £29,411 | £4,709 |
| 26 | Rutland | 58.8/100 | £96 | £34,355 | £4,147 |
| 27 | West Northamptonshire | 58.8/100 | £94 | £33,147 | £4,061 |
| 28 | Harborough | 58.8/100 | £124 | £28,618 | £5,357 |
| 29 | Lincoln | 57.9/100 | £128 | £29,482 | £5,530 |
| 30 | Hinckley and Bosworth | 57.7/100 | £99 | £34,606 | £4,277 |
| 31 | Rushcliffe | 57.7/100 | £132 | £28,689 | £5,702 |
| 32 | Charnwood | 56.6/100 | £123 | £32,435 | £5,314 |
| 33 | Nottingham | 56/100 | £152 | £29,144 | £6,566 |
| 34 | Derby | 55.5/100 | £119 | £35,179 | £5,141 |
| 35 | Blaby | 42.7/100 | £277 | £33,327 | £11,966 |
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest area for restaurant premises in East Midlands?
- The lowest VOA rateable value for this property type in East Midlands is £67/m²/yr in Erewash. On the combined Gera Business Location Score, which also weighs wages and demand, Oadby and Wigston ranks #1.
- How much are business rates for restaurant in Oadby and Wigston?
- For a 100 m² unit in Oadby and Wigston, business rates are roughly £3,067/yr at the 2026-27 small-business multiplier (43.2p), on top of about £7,100/yr rent — before Small Business Rate Relief.
Opening a restaurant in East 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).