Best areas to open storage / store unit in South West
26 South 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 or trade store unit in South West?
In South West, the best area to open a storage or trade store unit is Torridge, with a Gera Business Location Score of 62.7/100: premises at £31/m²/yr and local median pay £26,745. South Gloucestershire ranks lowest of 26 South West authorities at 47.8/100. From 2025 UK government open data; re-dated annually.
Gera Business Location Score
Top South West area for storage / store unit: Torridge.
How this is calculatedSouth West ranked for storage / store unit
| # | Local authority | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Torridge | 62.7/100 | £31 | £26,745 | £1,339 |
| 2 | Mid Devon | 61.4/100 | £33 | £29,224 | £1,426 |
| 3 | North Devon | 60.1/100 | £39 | £27,526 | £1,685 |
| 4 | Forest of Dean | 59.9/100 | £43 | £25,387 | £1,858 |
| 5 | Cornwall | 58.8/100 | £44 | £27,006 | £1,901 |
| 6 | South Hams | 58.8/100 | £44 | £28,329 | £1,901 |
| 7 | West Devon | 58.2/100 | £44 | £28,161 | £1,901 |
| 8 | Wiltshire | 57.8/100 | £42 | £30,000 | £1,814 |
| 9 | Dorset | 57.6/100 | £45 | £29,292 | £1,944 |
| 10 | Teignbridge | 57/100 | £48 | £28,636 | £2,074 |
| 11 | Somerset | 56.6/100 | £48 | £29,152 | £2,074 |
| 12 | Cotswold | 56.6/100 | £51 | £29,655 | £2,203 |
| 13 | North Somerset | 56.3/100 | £49 | £28,749 | £2,117 |
| 14 | East Devon | 56.1/100 | £45 | £31,874 | £1,944 |
| 15 | Stroud | 54.2/100 | £51 | £32,495 | £2,203 |
| 16 | Exeter | 54.1/100 | £54 | £30,138 | £2,333 |
| 17 | Gloucester | 53.3/100 | £55 | £30,796 | £2,376 |
| 18 | Swindon | 53.2/100 | £51 | £32,933 | £2,203 |
| 19 | Torbay | 52.8/100 | £61 | £28,066 | £2,635 |
| 20 | Plymouth | 51.6/100 | £60 | £30,346 | £2,592 |
| 21 | Tewkesbury | 50.9/100 | £54 | £37,088 | £2,333 |
| 22 | Bath and North East Somerset | 50.6/100 | £62 | £32,004 | £2,678 |
| 23 | Cheltenham | 50.5/100 | £57 | £35,202 | £2,462 |
| 24 | Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole | 49.7/100 | £67 | £31,121 | £2,894 |
| 25 | Bristol, City of | 49.3/100 | £58 | £36,652 | £2,506 |
| 26 | South Gloucestershire | 47.8/100 | £63 | £36,920 | £2,722 |
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest area for storage / store unit premises in South West?
- The lowest VOA rateable value for this property type in South West is £31/m²/yr in Torridge. On the combined Gera Business Location Score, which also weighs wages and demand, Torridge ranks #1.
- How much are business rates for storage / store unit in Torridge?
- For a 100 m² unit in Torridge, business rates are roughly £1,339/yr at the 2026-27 small-business multiplier (43.2p), on top of about £3,100/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).