Best areas to open superstore / hypermarket in South East
38 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 superstore or hypermarket in South East?
In South East, the best area to open a superstore or hypermarket is Thanet, with a Gera Business Location Score of 59.1/100: premises at £145/m²/yr and local median pay £27,076. Runnymede ranks lowest of 38 South East authorities at 39.1/100. From 2025 UK government open data; re-dated annually.
Gera Business Location Score
Top South East area for superstore / hypermarket: Thanet.
How this is calculatedSouth East ranked for superstore / hypermarket
| # | Local authority | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thanet | 59.1/100 | £145 | £27,076 | £6,264 |
| 2 | Havant | 56.2/100 | £146 | £30,573 | £6,307 |
| 3 | Arun | 55.6/100 | £163 | £27,461 | £7,042 |
| 4 | Isle of Wight | 55.4/100 | £174 | £26,185 | £7,517 |
| 5 | Southampton | 54.7/100 | £147 | £33,878 | £6,350 |
| 6 | Eastbourne | 54.3/100 | £175 | £26,893 | £7,560 |
| 7 | Brighton and Hove | 52.9/100 | £172 | £33,649 | £7,430 |
| 8 | Medway | 52.2/100 | £163 | £30,784 | £7,042 |
| 9 | Ashford | 52.1/100 | £183 | £29,118 | £7,906 |
| 10 | Canterbury | 52.1/100 | £181 | £29,337 | £7,819 |
| 11 | Folkestone and Hythe | 52/100 | £170 | £31,907 | £7,344 |
| 12 | Eastleigh | 51/100 | £155 | £35,362 | £6,696 |
| 13 | Wealden | 50.7/100 | £200 | £27,639 | £8,640 |
| 14 | Portsmouth | 50.2/100 | £169 | £33,015 | £7,301 |
| 15 | Elmbridge | 49.9/100 | £195 | £30,000 | £8,424 |
| 16 | Test Valley | 49.1/100 | £176 | £33,566 | £7,603 |
| 17 | New Forest | 48.8/100 | £207 | £30,071 | £8,942 |
| 18 | Milton Keynes | 47.4/100 | £178 | £36,521 | £7,690 |
| 19 | Cherwell | 47.1/100 | £201 | £33,207 | £8,683 |
| 20 | Swale | 46.8/100 | £197 | £29,831 | £8,510 |
| 21 | West Berkshire | 46.4/100 | £181 | £35,806 | £7,819 |
| 22 | Mole Valley | 46.1/100 | £188 | £39,893 | £8,122 |
| 23 | East Hampshire | 45.6/100 | £215 | £30,143 | £9,288 |
| 24 | Mid Sussex | 45.4/100 | £211 | £31,401 | £9,115 |
| 25 | Reigate and Banstead | 44.7/100 | £180 | £39,073 | £7,776 |
| 26 | Waverley | 44.6/100 | £223 | £31,083 | £9,634 |
| 27 | Buckinghamshire | 44.2/100 | £211 | £33,367 | £9,115 |
| 28 | Rushmoor | 43.9/100 | £201 | £34,238 | £8,683 |
| 29 | Woking | 43.8/100 | £202 | £35,258 | £8,726 |
| 30 | Windsor and Maidenhead | 43.7/100 | £216 | £34,570 | £9,331 |
| 31 | Basingstoke and Deane | 42.7/100 | £200 | £35,492 | £8,640 |
| 32 | Bracknell Forest | 41.5/100 | £200 | £37,063 | £8,640 |
| 33 | Tonbridge and Malling | 41.5/100 | £223 | £31,472 | £9,634 |
| 34 | South Oxfordshire | 41.4/100 | £216 | £36,315 | £9,331 |
| 35 | Reading | 41/100 | £184 | £44,956 | £7,949 |
| 36 | Wokingham | 40/100 | £204 | £38,552 | £8,813 |
| 37 | Oxford | 39.8/100 | £210 | £38,779 | £9,072 |
| 38 | Runnymede | 39.1/100 | £207 | £40,000 | £8,942 |
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest area for superstore / hypermarket premises in South East?
- The lowest VOA rateable value for this property type in South East is £145/m²/yr in Thanet. On the combined Gera Business Location Score, which also weighs wages and demand, Thanet ranks #1.
- How much are business rates for superstore / hypermarket in Thanet?
- For a 100 m² unit in Thanet, business rates are roughly £6,264/yr at the 2026-27 small-business multiplier (43.2p), on top of about £14,500/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).