‘We’ve lost everything’... independent butchers forced to close as costs soar
A COUPLE behind a chain of independent butchers in London today told of their heartbreak at its shock closure after ploughing their life savings into the business.
Miranda Ballard and her husband Roland quit media jobs in 2008 to study animal husbandry and butchery before moving to a farm in Worcester.
They initially launched their Muddy Boots business to supply supermarkets and online grocers, including Waitrose and Ocado, with top-quality meat. The brand expanded to include five stores in the capital and an east London factory, with plans for further outlets.
But now it has entered administration with the loss of dozens of jobs, to the shock of loyal customers.
Mrs Ballard said the couple had “lost everything” trying to keep the business afloat. “We both now have to take stock, get jobs, and we have nothing left for ourselves,” she added. “Our savings are gone, it was everything we had.”
The decision was made on Saturday after discussions with investors, as the couple could not guarantee business would pick up in the new year. They announced their decision on social media on Monday.
Closure will mean the loss of five factory jobs, 12 full-time retail staff and 25 part-time posts in the stores. Mrs Bal- lard said: “When we called time there was a sense of relief to have the decision made. But there was enormous regret. Roland and I got to the point where we could not promise things will get better. We had nothing left to try.”
The company owed about £30,000 to suppliers and had seen operating costs rise along with the price of ingredients, despite a turnover of £1.3 million. Mrs Ballard said: “The amount we owed was not a huge amount of money and while sales had returned to previous levels this autumn, they had not roared. We couldn’t guarantee it will be better next year.
“Traditionally you could just make the money back at Christmas, but with meat it doesn’t work like that. We have to buy everything in and the profit margins at Christmas aren’t that huge.
“There is no way we could’ve put in a £40,000 order with suppliers if there was a chance we would go bust in January. It was a decision made with a heavy heart.” One customer tweeted: “I was a big fan of your Crouch End branch and the ethos of your company.”
The couple turned down a partnership with Tesco after deciding to launch their own shops — first in Crouch End in 2014. They followed with stores in Muswell Hill, Wandsworth, Earlsfield and Stoke Newington. Muddy Boots said anyone with existing orders would be contacted. @1Ben_Morgan