Best areas to open workshop / warehouse in North West
35 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 workshop or small warehouse in North West?
In North West, the best area to open a workshop or small warehouse is Rossendale, with a Gera Business Location Score of 67/100: premises at £25/m²/yr and local median pay £27,288. Manchester ranks lowest of 35 North West authorities at 57.3/100. From 2025 UK government open data; re-dated annually.
Gera Business Location Score
Top North West area for workshop / warehouse: Rossendale.
How this is calculatedNorth West ranked for workshop / warehouse
| # | Local authority | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rossendale | 67/100 | £25 | £27,288 | £1,080 |
| 2 | Pendle | 66.6/100 | £24 | £28,099 | £1,037 |
| 3 | Hyndburn | 65.8/100 | £30 | £27,323 | £1,296 |
| 4 | Burnley | 65.5/100 | £31 | £27,128 | £1,339 |
| 5 | Oldham | 65.1/100 | £29 | £27,990 | £1,253 |
| 6 | Blackpool | 64.9/100 | £30 | £27,064 | £1,296 |
| 7 | West Lancashire | 64.9/100 | £30 | £28,909 | £1,296 |
| 8 | Tameside | 64.7/100 | £34 | £27,115 | £1,469 |
| 9 | Blackburn with Darwen | 64.2/100 | £30 | £30,572 | £1,296 |
| 10 | Bolton | 64.1/100 | £35 | £27,696 | £1,512 |
| 11 | Wyre | 64.1/100 | £36 | £27,657 | £1,555 |
| 12 | Sefton | 63.5/100 | £37 | £27,006 | £1,598 |
| 13 | Bury | 63.4/100 | £34 | £29,060 | £1,469 |
| 14 | Lancaster | 63.3/100 | £34 | £29,091 | £1,469 |
| 15 | Rochdale | 63/100 | £38 | £29,036 | £1,642 |
| 16 | Chorley | 62.7/100 | £38 | £29,415 | £1,642 |
| 17 | Wigan | 62.6/100 | £41 | £28,003 | £1,771 |
| 18 | Wirral | 62.6/100 | £38 | £28,840 | £1,642 |
| 19 | Stockport | 62.5/100 | £42 | £28,296 | £1,814 |
| 20 | St. Helens | 62.4/100 | £40 | £28,468 | £1,728 |
| 21 | Westmorland and Furness | 62.3/100 | £35 | £32,683 | £1,512 |
| 22 | Cumberland | 62.1/100 | £26 | £34,890 | £1,123 |
| 23 | South Ribble | 61.9/100 | £41 | £30,126 | £1,771 |
| 24 | Preston | 61.6/100 | £33 | £32,655 | £1,426 |
| 25 | Cheshire West and Chester | 61.5/100 | £40 | £30,636 | £1,728 |
| 26 | Knowsley | 61.1/100 | £37 | £32,181 | £1,598 |
| 27 | Halton | 60.9/100 | £40 | £32,465 | £1,728 |
| 28 | Fylde | 60.1/100 | £32 | £36,962 | £1,382 |
| 29 | Liverpool | 60/100 | £36 | £33,648 | £1,555 |
| 30 | Cheshire East | 59.6/100 | £45 | £33,200 | £1,944 |
| 31 | Trafford | 59.4/100 | £49 | £31,516 | £2,117 |
| 32 | Salford | 58.3/100 | £44 | £34,741 | £1,901 |
| 33 | Warrington | 57.9/100 | £49 | £34,719 | £2,117 |
| 34 | Ribble Valley | 57.8/100 | £36 | £41,474 | £1,555 |
| 35 | Manchester | 57.3/100 | £43 | £36,554 | £1,858 |
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest area for workshop / warehouse premises in North West?
- The lowest VOA rateable value for this property type in North West is £24/m²/yr in Pendle. On the combined Gera Business Location Score, which also weighs wages and demand, Rossendale ranks #1.
- How much are business rates for workshop / warehouse in Rossendale?
- For a 100 m² unit in Rossendale, business rates are roughly £1,080/yr at the 2026-27 small-business multiplier (43.2p), on top of about £2,500/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).