Site Comparator
The cheapest rent is rarely the best site. Enter up to three candidates and the tool turns each into occupancy ratio, revenue density, modelled EBITDA and payback — then tells you which one wins and why.
Site 1
Site 2
Site 3
What this calculates
Site selection usually comes down to a feeling about footfall. This puts three candidate sites side by side on numbers instead: occupancy cost ratio, revenue density per square metre, modelled EBITDA and payback period — then names the winner and shows which factor decided it.
What you will need
Rent and full occupancy cost per site. Including service charge and any turnover rent. Two sites with similar base rents can differ substantially once the full occupancy cost is counted.
Realistic revenue per site. The hardest input and the one that decides the answer. Build each estimate from the site's own catchment and trading pattern rather than adjusting one number up or down by feel.
Size and fit-out cost. Larger sites carry more rent and more fit-out but can support higher volume. Payback is where that trade actually resolves.
How to read the result
Read which factor decided it, not just which site won. If the winner is decided by a revenue estimate you are unsure of, the comparison is really telling you to go and firm that estimate up. Where two sites are close, favour the one with the better occupancy ratio and the more flexible lease — the ratio protects you if revenue disappoints, and lease flexibility is what lets you correct a mistake.
Questions about this tool
How do I estimate revenue for a site I have not opened?
Triangulate: comparable units in similar catchments, the brand's own experience in comparable sites, and observed footfall at the times you would trade. Then discount your estimate, because new-site optimism is systematic.
Is the cheapest rent usually the best site?
Not usually. Rent is only meaningful against the revenue the site can produce, which is what the occupancy ratio and revenue density measure. A cheap site with weak density is the more expensive choice.
What if all three sites score poorly?
That is a legitimate answer. Continuing to search costs less than a fifteen-year lease on a site the numbers never supported.
For reference only; not legal, tax, or investment advice. Results depend entirely on the figures you enter — check them against your own quotes and your franchise agreement before acting on them.