Best areas to open trade showroom in South East
46 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 a trade showroom in South East?
In South East, the best area to open a trade showroom is Isle of Wight, with a Gera Business Location Score of 66.9/100: premises at £53/m²/yr and local median pay £26,185. Runnymede ranks lowest of 46 South East authorities at 49/100. From 2025 UK government open data; re-dated annually.
Gera Business Location Score
Top South East area for trade showroom: Isle of Wight.
How this is calculatedSouth East ranked for trade showroom
| # | Local authority | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Isle of Wight | 66.9/100 | £53 | £26,185 | £2,290 |
| 2 | Eastbourne | 66.9/100 | £44 | £26,893 | £1,901 |
| 3 | Rother | 66.4/100 | £62 | £27,732 | £2,678 |
| 4 | Chichester | 65.5/100 | £79 | £28,547 | £3,413 |
| 5 | New Forest | 65.4/100 | £57 | £30,071 | £2,462 |
| 6 | Winchester | 65.3/100 | £122 | £34,568 | £5,270 |
| 7 | Hastings | 65.2/100 | £44 | £29,383 | £1,901 |
| 8 | Ashford | 64.2/100 | £63 | £29,118 | £2,722 |
| 9 | Wealden | 63.8/100 | £82 | £27,639 | £3,542 |
| 10 | Worthing | 63/100 | £70 | £29,044 | £3,024 |
| 11 | Dover | 62.9/100 | £50 | £31,547 | £2,160 |
| 12 | Havant | 62.3/100 | £61 | £30,573 | £2,635 |
| 13 | Folkestone and Hythe | 62.1/100 | £61 | £31,907 | £2,635 |
| 14 | Swale | 62/100 | £56 | £29,831 | £2,419 |
| 15 | Canterbury | 61.9/100 | £84 | £29,337 | £3,629 |
| 16 | Medway | 61.8/100 | £54 | £30,784 | £2,333 |
| 17 | Adur | 61.5/100 | £90 | £28,238 | £3,888 |
| 18 | Cherwell | 61.3/100 | £72 | £33,207 | £3,110 |
| 19 | West Oxfordshire | 61/100 | £58 | £34,006 | £2,506 |
| 20 | Lewes | 60.8/100 | £79 | £32,287 | £3,413 |
| 21 | Portsmouth | 60.6/100 | £57 | £33,015 | £2,462 |
| 22 | Sevenoaks | 60.6/100 | £98 | £28,537 | £4,234 |
| 23 | Test Valley | 59.9/100 | £64 | £33,566 | £2,765 |
| 24 | Tandridge | 59.7/100 | £94 | £29,925 | £4,061 |
| 25 | Waverley | 59.3/100 | £106 | £31,083 | £4,579 |
| 26 | Buckinghamshire | 59.1/100 | £83 | £33,367 | £3,586 |
| 27 | Southampton | 58.5/100 | £87 | £33,878 | £3,758 |
| 28 | Mid Sussex | 58.4/100 | £103 | £31,401 | £4,450 |
| 29 | Rushmoor | 58.2/100 | £72 | £34,238 | £3,110 |
| 30 | Brighton and Hove | 57.9/100 | £117 | £33,649 | £5,054 |
| 31 | Maidstone | 57.6/100 | £104 | £31,986 | £4,493 |
| 32 | Fareham | 57.1/100 | £98 | £32,895 | £4,234 |
| 33 | South Oxfordshire | 56.8/100 | £87 | £36,315 | £3,758 |
| 34 | Guildford | 56.6/100 | £79 | £38,027 | £3,413 |
| 35 | Vale of White Horse | 54.4/100 | £80 | £38,134 | £3,456 |
| 36 | Elmbridge | 54.3/100 | £166 | £30,000 | £7,171 |
| 37 | West Berkshire | 53.6/100 | £112 | £35,806 | £4,838 |
| 38 | Milton Keynes | 53.5/100 | £117 | £36,521 | £5,054 |
| 39 | Surrey Heath | 53.5/100 | £119 | £36,632 | £5,141 |
| 40 | Crawley | 52.3/100 | £125 | £36,053 | £5,400 |
| 41 | Mole Valley | 51.6/100 | £141 | £39,893 | £6,091 |
| 42 | Wokingham | 51.5/100 | £108 | £38,552 | £4,666 |
| 43 | Oxford | 51/100 | £121 | £38,779 | £5,227 |
| 44 | Reigate and Banstead | 50.3/100 | £127 | £39,073 | £5,486 |
| 45 | Reading | 49.9/100 | £98 | £44,956 | £4,234 |
| 46 | Runnymede | 49/100 | £130 | £40,000 | £5,616 |
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest area for trade showroom premises in South East?
- The lowest VOA rateable value for this property type in South East is £44/m²/yr in Eastbourne. On the combined Gera Business Location Score, which also weighs wages and demand, Isle of Wight ranks #1.
- How much are business rates for trade showroom in Isle of Wight?
- For a 100 m² unit in Isle of Wight, business rates are roughly £2,290/yr at the 2026-27 small-business multiplier (43.2p), on top of about £5,300/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).