Best UK areas to open storage / store unit
315 local authorities ranked by the Gera Business Location Score — real commercial rent, local wages, business rates and market density.
Which UK areas are best for opening a storage or trade store unit in 2026?
The best UK area to open a storage or trade store unit is Gwynedd (Wales), with a Gera Business Location Score of 66.6/100: premises at £20/m²/yr and local median pay of £25,217. Tower Hamlets ranks lowest at 9.8/100. Ranked across 315 local authorities from 2025 government open data; re-dated annually.
Top 10 areas for storage / store unit
| # | Local authority | Region | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gwynedd | Wales | 66.6/100 | £20 | £25,217 | £864 |
| 2 | Melton | East Midlands | 65.3/100 | £24 | £26,700 | £1,037 |
| 3 | Wyre | North West | 65.2/100 | £22 | £27,657 | £950 |
| 4 | West Lindsey | East Midlands | 65.1/100 | £18 | £30,000 | £778 |
| 5 | Powys | Wales | 65.1/100 | £26 | £26,839 | £1,123 |
| 6 | North East Lincolnshire | Yorkshire and The Humber | 64.8/100 | £24 | £26,631 | £1,037 |
| 7 | Pembrokeshire / Sir Benfro | Wales | 64.8/100 | £25 | £26,535 | £1,080 |
| 8 | Vale of Glamorgan / Bro Morgannwg | Wales | 64.8/100 | £20 | £28,528 | £864 |
| 9 | Boston | East Midlands | 64.5/100 | £28 | £26,187 | £1,210 |
| 10 | East Lindsey | East Midlands | 64.5/100 | £26 | £26,724 | £1,123 |
Filter by your budget
Set a premises size and monthly budget to shortlist the areas that fit.
Budget covers estimated annual rent (VOA rateable value × floor area) plus the 2026-27 small-business rates bill (43.2p multiplier), spread over 12 months. Real reliefs (e.g. Small Business Rate Relief) can reduce the rates portion further.
Best areas to open a storage or trade store unit within £2,000/month
- 1GwyneddWalesGBLS 66.6≈ £191/mo
- 2MeltonEast MidlandsGBLS 65.3≈ £229/mo
- 3WyreNorth WestGBLS 65.2≈ £210/mo
- 4West LindseyEast MidlandsGBLS 65.1≈ £172/mo
- 5PowysWalesGBLS 65.1≈ £248/mo
- 6North East LincolnshireYorkshire and The HumberGBLS 64.8≈ £229/mo
- 7Pembrokeshire / Sir BenfroWalesGBLS 64.8≈ £239/mo
- 8Vale of Glamorgan / Bro MorgannwgWalesGBLS 64.8≈ £191/mo
- 9BostonEast MidlandsGBLS 64.5≈ £267/mo
- 10East LindseyEast MidlandsGBLS 64.5≈ £248/mo
- 11PendleNorth WestGBLS 64.4≈ £229/mo
- 12Isle of Anglesey / Ynys MônWalesGBLS 64≈ £200/mo
- 13RossendaleNorth WestGBLS 63.7≈ £267/mo
- 14North KestevenEast MidlandsGBLS 63.7≈ £210/mo
- 15Staffordshire MoorlandsWest MidlandsGBLS 63.6≈ £277/mo
Storage / store unit by region
Frequently asked questions
- Where is the cheapest place to open a storage or trade store unit in the UK?
- By premises cost alone, the lowest VOA rateable value among the 315 ranked areas is £18/m²/yr in West Lindsey. But the Gera Business Location Score also weighs local wages and market demand: on the combined score, Gwynedd ranks #1 at 66.6/100.
- How much is rent and business rates for storage / store unit premises in Gwynedd?
- In Gwynedd, the VOA rateable value for this property type is £20 per m² per year. For a 100 m² unit that is about £2,000/yr rent, plus roughly £864/yr business rates at the 2026-27 small-business multiplier (43.2p) — before any Small Business Rate Relief.
- What data is this based on?
- VOA Non-Domestic Rating Business Floorspace (rateable value per m², 31 March 2025), ONS UK Business Counts 2025 (market density), ONS ASHE 2025 (local wages) and ONS mid-2024 population — all Open Government Licence v3.0, joined on the ONS local-authority code.
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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).