Best areas to open retail warehouse in Wales
22 Wales 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 Wales?
In Wales, the best area to open a retail warehouse / foodstore is Ceredigion, with a Gera Business Location Score of 74.8/100: premises at £86/m²/yr and local median pay £27,868. Flintshire / Sir y Fflint ranks lowest of 22 Wales authorities at 47.6/100. From 2025 UK government open data; re-dated annually.
Wales ranked for retail warehouse
| # | Local authority | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ceredigion | 74.8/100 | £86 | £27,868 | £3,715 |
| 2 | Powys | 72.7/100 | £92 | £26,839 | £3,974 |
| 3 | Pembrokeshire / Sir Benfro | 72.2/100 | £87 | £26,535 | £3,758 |
| 4 | Monmouthshire / Sir Fynwy | 70.6/100 | £65 | £32,805 | £2,808 |
| 5 | Gwynedd | 68.1/100 | £127 | £25,217 | £5,486 |
| 6 | Isle of Anglesey / Ynys Môn | 66.5/100 | £97 | £29,867 | £4,190 |
| 7 | Caerphilly / Caerffili | 66.2/100 | £68 | £28,187 | £2,938 |
| 8 | Carmarthenshire / Sir Gaerfyrddin | 65.9/100 | £102 | £29,835 | £4,406 |
| 9 | Blaenau Gwent | 64.2/100 | £97 | £26,241 | £4,190 |
| 10 | Bridgend / Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr | 63.8/100 | £106 | £30,377 | £4,579 |
| 11 | Vale of Glamorgan / Bro Morgannwg | 63.4/100 | £106 | £28,528 | £4,579 |
| 12 | Denbighshire / Sir Ddinbych | 63.3/100 | £143 | £27,011 | £6,178 |
| 13 | Neath Port Talbot / Castell-nedd Port Talbot | 63.3/100 | £79 | £30,055 | £3,413 |
| 14 | Newport / Casnewydd | 63.2/100 | £86 | £32,340 | £3,715 |
| 15 | Swansea / Abertawe | 62.6/100 | £97 | £31,348 | £4,190 |
| 16 | Rhondda Cynon Taf | 60.3/100 | £121 | £28,454 | £5,227 |
| 17 | Cardiff / Caerdydd | 60/100 | £113 | £33,599 | £4,882 |
| 18 | Wrexham / Wrecsam | 59/100 | £120 | £30,080 | £5,184 |
| 19 | Torfaen / Tor-faen | 58.5/100 | £122 | £31,105 | £5,270 |
| 20 | Merthyr Tydfil / Merthyr Tudful | 57.8/100 | £154 | £27,843 | £6,653 |
| 21 | Conwy | 57.1/100 | £218 | £26,961 | £9,418 |
| 22 | Flintshire / Sir y Fflint | 47.6/100 | £210 | £34,480 | £9,072 |
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest area for retail warehouse premises in Wales?
- The lowest VOA rateable value for this property type in Wales is £65/m²/yr in Monmouthshire / Sir Fynwy. On the combined Gera Business Location Score, which also weighs wages and demand, Ceredigion ranks #1.
- How much are business rates for retail warehouse in Ceredigion?
- For a 100 m² unit in Ceredigion, business rates are roughly £3,715/yr at the 2026-27 small-business multiplier (43.2p), on top of about £8,600/yr rent — before Small Business Rate Relief.
Opening a retail warehouse / foodstore in Wales?
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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).