Best areas to open retail warehouse in South West
21 South 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 South West?
In South West, the best area to open a retail warehouse / foodstore is Cotswold, with a Gera Business Location Score of 78.9/100: premises at £103/m²/yr and local median pay £29,655. South Gloucestershire ranks lowest of 21 South West authorities at 48.7/100. From 2025 UK government open data; re-dated annually.
Gera Business Location Score
Top South West area for retail warehouse: Cotswold.
How this is calculatedSouth West ranked for retail warehouse
| # | Local authority | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cotswold | 78.9/100 | £103 | £29,655 | £4,450 |
| 2 | North Devon | 73.7/100 | £96 | £27,526 | £4,147 |
| 3 | Cornwall | 70.7/100 | £109 | £27,006 | £4,709 |
| 4 | East Devon | 67.9/100 | £94 | £31,874 | £4,061 |
| 5 | Stroud | 67.8/100 | £69 | £32,495 | £2,981 |
| 6 | Teignbridge | 67.4/100 | £89 | £28,636 | £3,845 |
| 7 | Somerset | 67/100 | £99 | £29,152 | £4,277 |
| 8 | Mid Devon | 65.7/100 | £89 | £29,224 | £3,845 |
| 9 | Dorset | 65.5/100 | £144 | £29,292 | £6,221 |
| 10 | Gloucester | 63.6/100 | £93 | £30,796 | £4,018 |
| 11 | Torbay | 62.6/100 | £142 | £28,066 | £6,134 |
| 12 | Exeter | 62.5/100 | £117 | £30,138 | £5,054 |
| 13 | North Somerset | 62.4/100 | £122 | £28,749 | £5,270 |
| 14 | Plymouth | 61.3/100 | £100 | £30,346 | £4,320 |
| 15 | Wiltshire | 60.8/100 | £129 | £30,000 | £5,573 |
| 16 | Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole | 60.6/100 | £139 | £31,121 | £6,005 |
| 17 | Cheltenham | 57.1/100 | £166 | £35,202 | £7,171 |
| 18 | Bristol, City of | 55.9/100 | £118 | £36,652 | £5,098 |
| 19 | Bath and North East Somerset | 55.8/100 | £168 | £32,004 | £7,258 |
| 20 | Swindon | 52/100 | £157 | £32,933 | £6,782 |
| 21 | South Gloucestershire | 48.7/100 | £165 | £36,920 | £7,128 |
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest area for retail warehouse premises in South West?
- The lowest VOA rateable value for this property type in South West is £69/m²/yr in Stroud. On the combined Gera Business Location Score, which also weighs wages and demand, Cotswold ranks #1.
- How much are business rates for retail warehouse in Cotswold?
- For a 100 m² unit in Cotswold, business rates are roughly £4,450/yr at the 2026-27 small-business multiplier (43.2p), on top of about £10,300/yr rent — before Small Business Rate Relief.
Opening a retail warehouse / foodstore in South 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).