Best UK areas to open superstore / hypermarket
215 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 superstore or hypermarket in 2026?
The best UK area to open a superstore or hypermarket is Newport / Casnewydd (Wales), with a Gera Business Location Score of 62.8/100: premises at £97/m²/yr and local median pay of £32,340. Islington ranks lowest at 29.4/100. Ranked across 215 local authorities from 2025 government open data; re-dated annually.
Gera Business Location Score
Top area for superstore / hypermarket: Newport / Casnewydd.
How this is calculatedTop 10 areas for superstore / hypermarket
| # | Local authority | Region | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Newport / Casnewydd | Wales | 62.8/100 | £97 | £32,340 | £4,190 |
| 2 | Conwy | Wales | 62.4/100 | £141 | £26,961 | £6,091 |
| 3 | Pembrokeshire / Sir Benfro | Wales | 61.8/100 | £140 | £26,535 | £6,048 |
| 4 | Powys | Wales | 61.8/100 | £143 | £26,839 | £6,178 |
| 5 | North East Lincolnshire | Yorkshire and The Humber | 61.3/100 | £139 | £26,631 | £6,005 |
| 6 | Gwynedd | Wales | 60.9/100 | £151 | £25,217 | £6,523 |
| 7 | North Norfolk | East | 59.7/100 | £170 | £26,296 | £7,344 |
| 8 | Sunderland | North East | 59.6/100 | £131 | £28,214 | £5,659 |
| 9 | Sandwell | West Midlands | 59.6/100 | £135 | £28,766 | £5,832 |
| 10 | Mansfield | East Midlands | 59.4/100 | £140 | £26,761 | £6,048 |
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 superstore or hypermarket within £2,000/month
- 1Newport / CasnewyddWalesGBLS 62.8≈ £926/mo
- 2ConwyWalesGBLS 62.4≈ £1,346/mo
- 3Pembrokeshire / Sir BenfroWalesGBLS 61.8≈ £1,337/mo
- 4PowysWalesGBLS 61.8≈ £1,365/mo
- 5North East LincolnshireYorkshire and The HumberGBLS 61.3≈ £1,327/mo
- 6GwyneddWalesGBLS 60.9≈ £1,442/mo
- 7North NorfolkEastGBLS 59.7≈ £1,623/mo
- 8SunderlandNorth EastGBLS 59.6≈ £1,251/mo
- 9SandwellWest MidlandsGBLS 59.6≈ £1,289/mo
- 10MansfieldEast MidlandsGBLS 59.4≈ £1,337/mo
- 11King's Lynn and West NorfolkEastGBLS 59.4≈ £1,270/mo
- 12South HamsSouth WestGBLS 59.4≈ £1,623/mo
- 13ChesterfieldEast MidlandsGBLS 59.2≈ £1,270/mo
- 14ThanetSouth EastGBLS 59.1≈ £1,384/mo
- 15CornwallSouth WestGBLS 59≈ £1,527/mo
Superstore / hypermarket by region
Frequently asked questions
- Where is the cheapest place to open a superstore or hypermarket in the UK?
- By premises cost alone, the lowest VOA rateable value among the 215 ranked areas is £97/m²/yr in Newport / Casnewydd. But the Gera Business Location Score also weighs local wages and market demand: on the combined score, Newport / Casnewydd ranks #1 at 62.8/100.
- How much is rent and business rates for superstore / hypermarket premises in Newport / Casnewydd?
- In Newport / Casnewydd, the VOA rateable value for this property type is £97 per m² per year. For a 100 m² unit that is about £9,700/yr rent, plus roughly £4,190/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).