Best areas to open storage depot in North West
16 North 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 storage depot in North West?
In North West, the best area to open a storage depot is West Lancashire, with a Gera Business Location Score of 62.9/100: premises at £17/m²/yr and local median pay £28,909. Cheshire East ranks lowest of 16 North West authorities at 41.3/100. From 2025 UK government open data; re-dated annually.
Gera Business Location Score
Top North West area for storage depot: West Lancashire.
How this is calculatedNorth West ranked for storage depot
| # | Local authority | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Lancashire | 62.9/100 | £17 | £28,909 | £734 |
| 2 | Bolton | 56.4/100 | £31 | £27,696 | £1,339 |
| 3 | Sefton | 56.1/100 | £27 | £27,006 | £1,166 |
| 4 | St. Helens | 55/100 | £31 | £28,468 | £1,339 |
| 5 | Tameside | 54/100 | £30 | £27,115 | £1,296 |
| 6 | Halton | 52.6/100 | £36 | £32,465 | £1,555 |
| 7 | Cumberland | 52.5/100 | £27 | £34,890 | £1,166 |
| 8 | Wigan | 51.2/100 | £39 | £28,003 | £1,685 |
| 9 | Warrington | 50.7/100 | £36 | £34,719 | £1,555 |
| 10 | Westmorland and Furness | 50.3/100 | £27 | £32,683 | £1,166 |
| 11 | Knowsley | 46.6/100 | £40 | £32,181 | £1,728 |
| 12 | Wirral | 45.6/100 | £41 | £28,840 | £1,771 |
| 13 | Cheshire West and Chester | 45.1/100 | £41 | £30,636 | £1,771 |
| 14 | Manchester | 44/100 | £33 | £36,554 | £1,426 |
| 15 | Salford | 41.7/100 | £42 | £34,741 | £1,814 |
| 16 | Cheshire East | 41.3/100 | £46 | £33,200 | £1,987 |
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest area for storage depot premises in North West?
- The lowest VOA rateable value for this property type in North West is £17/m²/yr in West Lancashire. On the combined Gera Business Location Score, which also weighs wages and demand, West Lancashire ranks #1.
- How much are business rates for storage depot in West Lancashire?
- For a 100 m² unit in West Lancashire, business rates are roughly £734/yr at the 2026-27 small-business multiplier (43.2p), on top of about £1,700/yr rent — before Small Business Rate Relief.
Opening a storage depot in North 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).