Best areas to open retail shop in North East
12 North East local authorities ranked by the Gera Business Location Score — real rent, wages, rates and market density.
Where is the best place to open an independent retail shop in North East?
In North East, the best area to open an independent retail shop is South Tyneside, with a Gera Business Location Score of 65.5/100: premises at £71/m²/yr and local median pay £25,490. Newcastle upon Tyne ranks lowest of 12 North East authorities at 58.6/100. From 2025 UK government open data; re-dated annually.
Gera Business Location Score
Top North East area for retail shop: South Tyneside.
How this is calculatedNorth East ranked for retail shop
| # | Local authority | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Tyneside | 65.5/100 | £71 | £25,490 | £3,067 |
| 2 | Redcar and Cleveland | 63.9/100 | £74 | £28,356 | £3,197 |
| 3 | County Durham | 63.4/100 | £73 | £29,393 | £3,154 |
| 4 | Northumberland | 63.3/100 | £100 | £27,769 | £4,320 |
| 5 | Hartlepool | 63.2/100 | £86 | £28,204 | £3,715 |
| 6 | Darlington | 63.1/100 | £89 | £29,692 | £3,845 |
| 7 | Middlesbrough | 62.8/100 | £85 | £29,502 | £3,672 |
| 8 | Stockton-on-Tees | 62.5/100 | £86 | £29,537 | £3,715 |
| 9 | North Tyneside | 62.4/100 | £93 | £29,311 | £4,018 |
| 10 | Sunderland | 62.1/100 | £109 | £28,214 | £4,709 |
| 11 | Gateshead | 59.1/100 | £168 | £28,507 | £7,258 |
| 12 | Newcastle upon Tyne | 58.6/100 | £142 | £31,786 | £6,134 |
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest area for retail shop premises in North East?
- The lowest VOA rateable value for this property type in North East is £71/m²/yr in South Tyneside. On the combined Gera Business Location Score, which also weighs wages and demand, South Tyneside ranks #1.
- How much are business rates for retail shop in South Tyneside?
- For a 100 m² unit in South Tyneside, business rates are roughly £3,067/yr at the 2026-27 small-business multiplier (43.2p), on top of about £7,100/yr rent — before Small Business Rate Relief.
Opening an independent retail shop in North 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).