Best areas to open restaurant 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 a restaurant in South East?
In South East, the best area to open a restaurant is Isle of Wight, with a Gera Business Location Score of 63.8/100: premises at £94/m²/yr and local median pay £26,185. Dartford ranks lowest of 64 South East authorities at 31.7/100. From 2025 UK government open data; re-dated annually.
Gera Business Location Score
Top South East area for restaurant: Isle of Wight.
How this is calculatedSouth East ranked for restaurant
| # | Local authority | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Isle of Wight | 63.8/100 | £94 | £26,185 | £4,061 |
| 2 | Thanet | 63.1/100 | £92 | £27,076 | £3,974 |
| 3 | Rother | 62.9/100 | £92 | £27,732 | £3,974 |
| 4 | Hastings | 61.4/100 | £94 | £29,383 | £4,061 |
| 5 | Wealden | 60.8/100 | £107 | £27,639 | £4,622 |
| 6 | Folkestone and Hythe | 60.8/100 | £88 | £31,907 | £3,802 |
| 7 | Gosport | 60.5/100 | £90 | £30,518 | £3,888 |
| 8 | Havant | 60.5/100 | £89 | £30,573 | £3,845 |
| 9 | Arun | 60.5/100 | £110 | £27,461 | £4,752 |
| 10 | Eastbourne | 60.4/100 | £121 | £26,893 | £5,227 |
| 11 | Ashford | 59.8/100 | £108 | £29,118 | £4,666 |
| 12 | Worthing | 59.8/100 | £111 | £29,044 | £4,795 |
| 13 | Dover | 59.6/100 | £100 | £31,547 | £4,320 |
| 14 | Adur | 59.6/100 | £113 | £28,238 | £4,882 |
| 15 | East Hampshire | 59.4/100 | £104 | £30,143 | £4,493 |
| 16 | Swale | 59.4/100 | £106 | £29,831 | £4,579 |
| 17 | New Forest | 58.5/100 | £123 | £30,071 | £5,314 |
| 18 | Medway | 58.4/100 | £111 | £30,784 | £4,795 |
| 19 | Test Valley | 57.7/100 | £102 | £33,566 | £4,406 |
| 20 | Portsmouth | 57.5/100 | £115 | £33,015 | £4,968 |
| 21 | Fareham | 57.5/100 | £108 | £32,895 | £4,666 |
| 22 | Rushmoor | 57.2/100 | £105 | £34,238 | £4,536 |
| 23 | Chichester | 57/100 | £153 | £28,547 | £6,610 |
| 24 | Tonbridge and Malling | 56.7/100 | £128 | £31,472 | £5,530 |
| 25 | Gravesham | 56.6/100 | £112 | £34,455 | £4,838 |
| 26 | Mid Sussex | 56.5/100 | £131 | £31,401 | £5,659 |
| 27 | Eastleigh | 56.1/100 | £109 | £35,362 | £4,709 |
| 28 | Lewes | 55.8/100 | £138 | £32,287 | £5,962 |
| 29 | Hart | 55.8/100 | £139 | £30,973 | £6,005 |
| 30 | Maidstone | 55.5/100 | £138 | £31,986 | £5,962 |
| 31 | Sevenoaks | 55.3/100 | £165 | £28,537 | £7,128 |
| 32 | Cherwell | 54.9/100 | £139 | £33,207 | £6,005 |
| 33 | Vale of White Horse | 54.8/100 | £110 | £38,134 | £4,752 |
| 34 | Spelthorne | 54.7/100 | £147 | £32,237 | £6,350 |
| 35 | Tandridge | 54.5/100 | £166 | £29,925 | £7,171 |
| 36 | Tunbridge Wells | 54.4/100 | £166 | £30,296 | £7,171 |
| 37 | Canterbury | 54.1/100 | £179 | £29,337 | £7,733 |
| 38 | Horsham | 53.9/100 | £157 | £32,334 | £6,782 |
| 39 | Waverley | 53.7/100 | £168 | £31,083 | £7,258 |
| 40 | West Oxfordshire | 53.6/100 | £154 | £34,006 | £6,653 |
| 41 | Southampton | 52.5/100 | £163 | £33,878 | £7,042 |
| 42 | West Berkshire | 52.4/100 | £156 | £35,806 | £6,739 |
| 43 | Buckinghamshire | 52.1/100 | £171 | £33,367 | £7,387 |
| 44 | Epsom and Ewell | 51.5/100 | £176 | £33,824 | £7,603 |
| 45 | Mole Valley | 51/100 | £148 | £39,893 | £6,394 |
| 46 | Surrey Heath | 51/100 | £165 | £36,632 | £7,128 |
| 47 | Woking | 50.9/100 | £173 | £35,258 | £7,474 |
| 48 | Slough | 50/100 | £161 | £38,578 | £6,955 |
| 49 | Reigate and Banstead | 49.9/100 | £162 | £39,073 | £6,998 |
| 50 | Brighton and Hove | 49.4/100 | £212 | £33,649 | £9,158 |
| 51 | Winchester | 49.2/100 | £202 | £34,568 | £8,726 |
| 52 | Basingstoke and Deane | 49.1/100 | £188 | £35,492 | £8,122 |
| 53 | Milton Keynes | 48.9/100 | £189 | £36,521 | £8,165 |
| 54 | Crawley | 48.5/100 | £196 | £36,053 | £8,467 |
| 55 | Wokingham | 48.3/100 | £180 | £38,552 | £7,776 |
| 56 | Runnymede | 48.3/100 | £176 | £40,000 | £7,603 |
| 57 | Elmbridge | 47.9/100 | £243 | £30,000 | £10,498 |
| 58 | Windsor and Maidenhead | 47.2/100 | £226 | £34,570 | £9,763 |
| 59 | South Oxfordshire | 47.2/100 | £211 | £36,315 | £9,115 |
| 60 | Bracknell Forest | 45.7/100 | £218 | £37,063 | £9,418 |
| 61 | Oxford | 42.3/100 | £258 | £38,779 | £11,146 |
| 62 | Guildford | 42.2/100 | £258 | £38,027 | £11,146 |
| 63 | Reading | 40.4/100 | £238 | £44,956 | £10,282 |
| 64 | Dartford | 31.7/100 | £415 | £32,428 | £17,928 |
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest area for restaurant premises in South East?
- The lowest VOA rateable value for this property type in South East is £88/m²/yr in Folkestone and Hythe. On the combined Gera Business Location Score, which also weighs wages and demand, Isle of Wight ranks #1.
- How much are business rates for restaurant in Isle of Wight?
- For a 100 m² unit in Isle of Wight, business rates are roughly £4,061/yr at the 2026-27 small-business multiplier (43.2p), on top of about £9,400/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).