Best areas to open retail shop in South East
64 South 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 South East?
In South East, the best area to open an independent retail shop is Isle of Wight, with a Gera Business Location Score of 64.9/100: premises at £92/m²/yr and local median pay £26,185. Reading ranks lowest of 64 South East authorities at 45.1/100. From 2025 UK government open data; re-dated annually.
Gera Business Location Score
Top South East area for retail shop: Isle of Wight.
How this is calculatedSouth East ranked for retail shop
| # | Local authority | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Isle of Wight | 64.9/100 | £92 | £26,185 | £3,974 |
| 2 | Rother | 64.3/100 | £97 | £27,732 | £4,190 |
| 3 | Thanet | 64.1/100 | £93 | £27,076 | £4,018 |
| 4 | Wealden | 62.9/100 | £117 | £27,639 | £5,054 |
| 5 | Hastings | 62.6/100 | £98 | £29,383 | £4,234 |
| 6 | Arun | 62.6/100 | £115 | £27,461 | £4,968 |
| 7 | Eastbourne | 62.4/100 | £126 | £26,893 | £5,443 |
| 8 | Havant | 62.2/100 | £90 | £30,573 | £3,888 |
| 9 | Ashford | 61.9/100 | £117 | £29,118 | £5,054 |
| 10 | Adur | 61.8/100 | £123 | £28,238 | £5,314 |
| 11 | Gosport | 61.7/100 | £85 | £30,518 | £3,672 |
| 12 | Swale | 61.7/100 | £97 | £29,831 | £4,190 |
| 13 | Worthing | 61.4/100 | £122 | £29,044 | £5,270 |
| 14 | Dover | 61.2/100 | £101 | £31,547 | £4,363 |
| 15 | Folkestone and Hythe | 61.2/100 | £101 | £31,907 | £4,363 |
| 16 | East Hampshire | 60.9/100 | £122 | £30,143 | £5,270 |
| 17 | New Forest | 60.6/100 | £140 | £30,071 | £6,048 |
| 18 | Chichester | 60/100 | £174 | £28,547 | £7,517 |
| 19 | Fareham | 59.9/100 | £107 | £32,895 | £4,622 |
| 20 | Tandridge | 59.9/100 | £139 | £29,925 | £6,005 |
| 21 | Medway | 59.6/100 | £128 | £30,784 | £5,530 |
| 22 | Canterbury | 59.6/100 | £155 | £29,337 | £6,696 |
| 23 | Portsmouth | 59.5/100 | £112 | £33,015 | £4,838 |
| 24 | Lewes | 59.2/100 | £137 | £32,287 | £5,918 |
| 25 | Cherwell | 59.2/100 | £131 | £33,207 | £5,659 |
| 26 | Mid Sussex | 59.1/100 | £142 | £31,401 | £6,134 |
| 27 | Tunbridge Wells | 58.9/100 | £175 | £30,296 | £7,560 |
| 28 | Test Valley | 58.7/100 | £123 | £33,566 | £5,314 |
| 29 | Winchester | 58.5/100 | £200 | £34,568 | £8,640 |
| 30 | Sevenoaks | 58.5/100 | £179 | £28,537 | £7,733 |
| 31 | Eastleigh | 58.4/100 | £109 | £35,362 | £4,709 |
| 32 | Rushmoor | 58.4/100 | £119 | £34,238 | £5,141 |
| 33 | Hart | 58.1/100 | £146 | £30,973 | £6,307 |
| 34 | Maidstone | 58/100 | £153 | £31,986 | £6,610 |
| 35 | Gravesham | 57.9/100 | £126 | £34,455 | £5,443 |
| 36 | Spelthorne | 57.9/100 | £157 | £32,237 | £6,782 |
| 37 | Waverley | 57.8/100 | £176 | £31,083 | £7,603 |
| 38 | Horsham | 57.5/100 | £163 | £32,334 | £7,042 |
| 39 | Tonbridge and Malling | 57.4/100 | £159 | £31,472 | £6,869 |
| 40 | Elmbridge | 57.1/100 | £198 | £30,000 | £8,554 |
| 41 | Surrey Heath | 56.7/100 | £135 | £36,632 | £5,832 |
| 42 | Buckinghamshire | 56.6/100 | £169 | £33,367 | £7,301 |
| 43 | Southampton | 56.5/100 | £165 | £33,878 | £7,128 |
| 44 | West Oxfordshire | 56.5/100 | £163 | £34,006 | £7,042 |
| 45 | Vale of White Horse | 55.9/100 | £121 | £38,134 | £5,227 |
| 46 | Windsor and Maidenhead | 55.8/100 | £179 | £34,570 | £7,733 |
| 47 | South Oxfordshire | 55.6/100 | £158 | £36,315 | £6,826 |
| 48 | Brighton and Hove | 55.1/100 | £208 | £33,649 | £8,986 |
| 49 | Slough | 55/100 | £147 | £38,578 | £6,350 |
| 50 | Epsom and Ewell | 54.9/100 | £188 | £33,824 | £8,122 |
| 51 | Basingstoke and Deane | 54.7/100 | £168 | £35,492 | £7,258 |
| 52 | West Berkshire | 54.6/100 | £172 | £35,806 | £7,430 |
| 53 | Mole Valley | 54.1/100 | £166 | £39,893 | £7,171 |
| 54 | Woking | 54.1/100 | £189 | £35,258 | £8,165 |
| 55 | Crawley | 53.8/100 | £185 | £36,053 | £7,992 |
| 56 | Reigate and Banstead | 53.7/100 | £158 | £39,073 | £6,826 |
| 57 | Runnymede | 53.1/100 | £157 | £40,000 | £6,782 |
| 58 | Bracknell Forest | 52.9/100 | £184 | £37,063 | £7,949 |
| 59 | Wokingham | 52.4/100 | £180 | £38,552 | £7,776 |
| 60 | Milton Keynes | 50.7/100 | £241 | £36,521 | £10,411 |
| 61 | Oxford | 48.2/100 | £259 | £38,779 | £11,189 |
| 62 | Guildford | 47.3/100 | £290 | £38,027 | £12,528 |
| 63 | Dartford | 46.8/100 | £357 | £32,428 | £15,422 |
| 64 | Reading | 45.1/100 | £260 | £44,956 | £11,232 |
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest area for retail shop premises in South East?
- The lowest VOA rateable value for this property type in South East is £85/m²/yr in Gosport. On the combined Gera Business Location Score, which also weighs wages and demand, Isle of Wight ranks #1.
- How much are business rates for retail shop in Isle of Wight?
- For a 100 m² unit in Isle of Wight, business rates are roughly £3,974/yr at the 2026-27 small-business multiplier (43.2p), on top of about £9,200/yr rent — before Small Business Rate Relief.
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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).