Recent reports from The Daily Mail found that the traditional independent butcher shop is quickly disappearing from the UK high street.
A startling 1,305 slaughterhouses and butcheries have closed since 2010, leaving some regions with few, or in some cases no, butcher shops to serve the local area.
Which areas have been hit the hardest?
The last 15 years have seen Lancashire and Norfolk lose the most butcheries, with 70 and 60 gone respectively.
Lincolnshire, home of the famous Lincolnshire sausage, was surprisingly also one of the areas that lost the most butchers, with 45 closing its doors.
As of 2025, there were 22 councils that had fewer than five butchers in their area. Among those are the Isle of Scilly and the Vale of White Horse in Oxfordshire. When looking at the regions with the lowest number of butcher shops per 100,000 residents, the Vale of White Horse came bottom with no butchers in the area at all. The Isle of Scilly, meanwhile, can only boast one butchery on the whole island.
Is this more of a rural issue?
No. It’s not just remote, rural areas that have suffered. Liverpool, for example, was found to be the city with the fewest butcheries, with fewer than three per 100,000 people.
In fact, Southampton, with a population of around 250,000, only has two butchers per 100,000 customers. Elsewhere, local authorities such as Windsor, The City of London and Maidenhead, each have fewer than five throughout their entire region.
Why are butcher shops disappearing?
Rising operating costs have been blamed by several outlets for the closures, and while energy costs, business rates, and staffing will have undoubtedly played a part in many of the more recent shutterings, they can’t necessarily be blamed for all of them.
“It would seem that many of the humble butcher shop’s problems stem from changing customer behaviour instead” explains Ben Westoby, senior client manager at Forbes Burton.
“Some may point to the rise of veganism and more plant-based diets being a factor, but the answer is probably a lot more straightforward. Supermarkets perform the role better.
“That’s not to say that the product or service is better at a supermarket. In fact, in many instances, it probably isn’t, but it’s fair to say that the traditional butcher shop hasn’t completely moved with the times.
“Gone are the days when one person’s wage was sufficient to pay the bills and allow their partner to stay at home in a family setup. Instead, many families have all the adults in the house out at work between 9-5, missing the typical butchery’s opening hours.
“Supermarkets are open after work and don’t just focus on one or two types of meat like many butchers. While I think most would actually prefer to buy their meat at a butchers, your average consumer is giving up a lot of convenience, choice, and the ability to wrap everything up in one shop by doing so.”
Don’t allow your business to be left behind
If trade is getting slower and bills are slowly starting to get trickier to pay, it could be that your company is sleepwalking into trouble. Whether it be a restructure, business sale, or closure that works best for you, it’s best to act as soon as possible.
With a range of solutions aimed at making life easier for business owners, Forbes Burton can help you to successfully navigate any difficulties. Get in touch for a free consultation today to see how we can help. Call us on 0800 060 8508, or email advice@forbesburton.com for your free consultation with no obligation.
