Best areas to open retail warehouse in East
40 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 retail warehouse / foodstore in East?
In East, the best area to open a retail warehouse / foodstore is North Norfolk, with a Gera Business Location Score of 81.6/100: premises at £60/m²/yr and local median pay £26,296. Cambridge ranks lowest of 40 East authorities at 46/100. From 2025 UK government open data; re-dated annually.
Gera Business Location Score
Top East area for retail warehouse: North Norfolk.
How this is calculatedEast ranked for retail warehouse
| # | Local authority | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Norfolk | 81.6/100 | £60 | £26,296 | £2,592 |
| 2 | Southend-on-Sea | 70.6/100 | £88 | £26,955 | £3,802 |
| 3 | Babergh | 69.3/100 | £86 | £25,785 | £3,715 |
| 4 | Fenland | 67.5/100 | £85 | £27,005 | £3,672 |
| 5 | West Suffolk | 67.4/100 | £100 | £29,613 | £4,320 |
| 6 | East Suffolk | 67.3/100 | £104 | £30,821 | £4,493 |
| 7 | Great Yarmouth | 66.9/100 | £114 | £26,484 | £4,925 |
| 8 | Norwich | 66.4/100 | £136 | £28,457 | £5,875 |
| 9 | Dacorum | 66.2/100 | £145 | £18,675 | £6,264 |
| 10 | Breckland | 66.1/100 | £90 | £28,303 | £3,888 |
| 11 | Maldon | 65.8/100 | £116 | £25,496 | £5,011 |
| 12 | Tendring | 65.7/100 | £109 | £27,067 | £4,709 |
| 13 | Ipswich | 63.9/100 | £116 | £30,605 | £5,011 |
| 14 | Castle Point | 62.9/100 | £117 | £27,524 | £5,054 |
| 15 | King's Lynn and West Norfolk | 62.6/100 | £124 | £30,544 | £5,357 |
| 16 | South Norfolk | 61.4/100 | £112 | £29,114 | £4,838 |
| 17 | Huntingdonshire | 60.5/100 | £109 | £32,441 | £4,709 |
| 18 | Colchester | 60.5/100 | £123 | £31,056 | £5,314 |
| 19 | North Hertfordshire | 60.3/100 | £113 | £33,409 | £4,882 |
| 20 | Luton | 59.4/100 | £140 | £29,640 | £6,048 |
| 21 | Peterborough | 59.2/100 | £140 | £31,062 | £6,048 |
| 22 | Broadland | 59/100 | £106 | £32,576 | £4,579 |
| 23 | Epping Forest | 58.5/100 | £174 | £30,038 | £7,517 |
| 24 | East Hertfordshire | 58.2/100 | £137 | £32,293 | £5,918 |
| 25 | Watford | 57.9/100 | £173 | £31,833 | £7,474 |
| 26 | Rochford | 57/100 | £164 | £26,706 | £7,085 |
| 27 | St Albans | 56.9/100 | £158 | £33,468 | £6,826 |
| 28 | Uttlesford | 56.6/100 | £155 | £32,124 | £6,696 |
| 29 | Central Bedfordshire | 56.3/100 | £136 | £30,963 | £5,875 |
| 30 | Harlow | 56/100 | £138 | £32,320 | £5,962 |
| 31 | Braintree | 55.8/100 | £145 | £32,175 | £6,264 |
| 32 | Basildon | 55.6/100 | £149 | £32,050 | £6,437 |
| 33 | Bedford | 54/100 | £150 | £33,148 | £6,480 |
| 34 | Welwyn Hatfield | 52.7/100 | £133 | £39,794 | £5,746 |
| 35 | Broxbourne | 51.9/100 | £204 | £29,980 | £8,813 |
| 36 | Thurrock | 51.5/100 | £181 | £34,388 | £7,819 |
| 37 | Chelmsford | 51.4/100 | £195 | £32,010 | £8,424 |
| 38 | Hertsmere | 51/100 | £202 | £36,000 | £8,726 |
| 39 | Stevenage | 48.4/100 | £153 | £41,224 | £6,610 |
| 40 | Cambridge | 46/100 | £190 | £40,266 | £8,208 |
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest area for retail warehouse premises in East?
- The lowest VOA rateable value for this property type in East is £60/m²/yr in North Norfolk. On the combined Gera Business Location Score, which also weighs wages and demand, North Norfolk ranks #1.
- How much are business rates for retail warehouse in North Norfolk?
- For a 100 m² unit in North Norfolk, business rates are roughly £2,592/yr at the 2026-27 small-business multiplier (43.2p), on top of about £6,000/yr rent — before Small Business Rate Relief.
Opening a retail warehouse / foodstore in 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).