Best areas to open retail warehouse in North West
34 North West 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 North West?
In North West, the best area to open a retail warehouse / foodstore is Blackburn with Darwen, with a Gera Business Location Score of 74.4/100: premises at £75/m²/yr and local median pay £30,572. Knowsley ranks lowest of 34 North West authorities at 48.2/100. From 2025 UK government open data; re-dated annually.
Gera Business Location Score
Top North West area for retail warehouse: Blackburn with Darwen.
How this is calculatedNorth West ranked for retail warehouse
| # | Local authority | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blackburn with Darwen | 74.4/100 | £75 | £30,572 | £3,240 |
| 2 | Westmorland and Furness | 73.3/100 | £73 | £32,683 | £3,154 |
| 3 | Pendle | 71.6/100 | £71 | £28,099 | £3,067 |
| 4 | Bury | 71.2/100 | £90 | £29,060 | £3,888 |
| 5 | Burnley | 68.9/100 | £85 | £27,128 | £3,672 |
| 6 | Blackpool | 68.8/100 | £113 | £27,064 | £4,882 |
| 7 | Chorley | 68/100 | £79 | £29,415 | £3,413 |
| 8 | Rochdale | 67.6/100 | £92 | £29,036 | £3,974 |
| 9 | Fylde | 67.1/100 | £85 | £36,962 | £3,672 |
| 10 | Hyndburn | 67.1/100 | £95 | £27,323 | £4,104 |
| 11 | Rossendale | 67.1/100 | £92 | £27,288 | £3,974 |
| 12 | Bolton | 65.6/100 | £141 | £27,696 | £6,091 |
| 13 | Oldham | 65.6/100 | £106 | £27,990 | £4,579 |
| 14 | Stockport | 65.2/100 | £126 | £28,296 | £5,443 |
| 15 | Cumberland | 64.7/100 | £85 | £34,890 | £3,672 |
| 16 | Trafford | 64.6/100 | £140 | £31,516 | £6,048 |
| 17 | West Lancashire | 64.6/100 | £97 | £28,909 | £4,190 |
| 18 | St. Helens | 63.6/100 | £105 | £28,468 | £4,536 |
| 19 | Lancaster | 63.3/100 | £109 | £29,091 | £4,709 |
| 20 | Wigan | 62.9/100 | £107 | £28,003 | £4,622 |
| 21 | Manchester | 62.6/100 | £125 | £36,554 | £5,400 |
| 22 | South Ribble | 61.9/100 | £104 | £30,126 | £4,493 |
| 23 | Sefton | 61.9/100 | £138 | £27,006 | £5,962 |
| 24 | Preston | 61.6/100 | £146 | £32,655 | £6,307 |
| 25 | Ribble Valley | 61.3/100 | £113 | £41,474 | £4,882 |
| 26 | Halton | 61.2/100 | £92 | £32,465 | £3,974 |
| 27 | Tameside | 61/100 | £135 | £27,115 | £5,832 |
| 28 | Salford | 60.7/100 | £100 | £34,741 | £4,320 |
| 29 | Cheshire East | 60.6/100 | £137 | £33,200 | £5,918 |
| 30 | Liverpool | 60/100 | £118 | £33,648 | £5,098 |
| 31 | Warrington | 57.7/100 | £131 | £34,719 | £5,659 |
| 32 | Cheshire West and Chester | 57.5/100 | £159 | £30,636 | £6,869 |
| 33 | Wirral | 57.4/100 | £153 | £28,840 | £6,610 |
| 34 | Knowsley | 48.2/100 | £166 | £32,181 | £7,171 |
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest area for retail warehouse premises in North West?
- The lowest VOA rateable value for this property type in North West is £71/m²/yr in Pendle. On the combined Gera Business Location Score, which also weighs wages and demand, Blackburn with Darwen ranks #1.
- How much are business rates for retail warehouse in Blackburn with Darwen?
- For a 100 m² unit in Blackburn with Darwen, business rates are roughly £3,240/yr at the 2026-27 small-business multiplier (43.2p), on top of about £7,500/yr rent — before Small Business Rate Relief.
Opening a retail warehouse / foodstore in North West?
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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).