Best areas to open restaurant in North East
12 North 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 restaurant in North East?
In North East, the best area to open a restaurant is South Tyneside, with a Gera Business Location Score of 65.3/100: premises at £63/m²/yr and local median pay £25,490. Gateshead ranks lowest of 12 North East authorities at 54.5/100. From 2025 UK government open data; re-dated annually.
Gera Business Location Score
Top North East area for restaurant: South Tyneside.
How this is calculatedNorth East ranked for restaurant
| # | Local authority | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Tyneside | 65.3/100 | £63 | £25,490 | £2,722 |
| 2 | Redcar and Cleveland | 64.5/100 | £58 | £28,356 | £2,506 |
| 3 | Hartlepool | 62.9/100 | £76 | £28,204 | £3,283 |
| 4 | North Tyneside | 61.9/100 | £84 | £29,311 | £3,629 |
| 5 | Sunderland | 60.9/100 | £99 | £28,214 | £4,277 |
| 6 | Northumberland | 60.2/100 | £118 | £27,769 | £5,098 |
| 7 | Stockton-on-Tees | 60.2/100 | £98 | £29,537 | £4,234 |
| 8 | Darlington | 59.9/100 | £103 | £29,692 | £4,450 |
| 9 | Middlesbrough | 59.7/100 | £103 | £29,502 | £4,450 |
| 10 | County Durham | 57.7/100 | £131 | £29,393 | £5,659 |
| 11 | Newcastle upon Tyne | 54.7/100 | £155 | £31,786 | £6,696 |
| 12 | Gateshead | 54.5/100 | £171 | £28,507 | £7,387 |
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest area for restaurant premises in North East?
- The lowest VOA rateable value for this property type in North East is £58/m²/yr in Redcar and Cleveland. On the combined Gera Business Location Score, which also weighs wages and demand, South Tyneside ranks #1.
- How much are business rates for restaurant in South Tyneside?
- For a 100 m² unit in South Tyneside, business rates are roughly £2,722/yr at the 2026-27 small-business multiplier (43.2p), on top of about £6,300/yr rent — before Small Business Rate Relief.
Opening a restaurant in North East?
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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).