Barbershop Boom and Bust: The Unlikely Transformation of a Welsh High Street

[Social Media]

 

Barbershop Boom and Bust: The Unlikely Transformation of a Welsh High Street

 

In the quiet former mining town of Porth, nestled among the hills of south Wales, a curious phenomenon is unfolding. Despite economic decline and widespread shop closures, the town’s high street is bristling with barbershops—14 of them, to be exact. Many are Turkish or Kurdish-owned, part of a national surge in similar salons. But as more appear, so too do concerns from locals who fear the high street’s identity is being clipped away, one beard trim at a time.

 

 

Bijar Adam, a 30-year-old Kurdish barber, runs Yusif’s, one of the town's many grooming spots. “There’s just been more and more barbers opening. In the past three or four years we’ve had so many, it’s terrible,” he says. Adam, who came from Iraq a decade ago to visit his sister in Cardiff, took over the lease for his Porth salon seven years ago. Since then, he’s seen a flood of similar businesses appear, leading him to send a desperate email to local officials pleading for no new licences. “To no avail,” he says.

 

 

Indeed, despite resistance from locals, the council recently approved another barbershop—Porth’s 14th—set to open in a disused amusement arcade on Hannah Street. Of the 19 shuttered shops lining the street, few remain open: a butcher, a jeweller, and a dog groomer cling on amid fading bunting and plastic flower displays. For longtime residents like Jackie Abberfield, who’s worked on Hannah Street since 1987, the contrast to the town’s former vibrancy is stark.

 

 

“Back in the Eighties, we had six butchers, six shoe shops, three men’s shops and so many beautiful Italian restaurants,” she recalls.

 

The rise in barbers isn’t unique to Porth. Nationally, barbershop numbers have surged by 50 percent since 2018, with over 18,000 now operating in the UK. While many are simply trying to earn a living, their proliferation has caught the attention of authorities. The National Crime Agency (NCA) confirmed in March that it had launched raids across the UK over concerns that some Turkish-style barbershops are being used for money laundering and other criminal activity. “Growing intelligence” suggested the cash-only model of many of these businesses makes them ripe for exploitation.

 

 

Adam, however, is quick to clarify that his business takes card payments—my £10 beard trim included—and operates above board. Still, he is tired of the saturation. “I’m giving it up,” he says. “I want to get a decent job with the government. Let the next barber come along and make me an offer.”

 

Nearby in Blackwood, another Welsh town double the size of Porth, six Turkish-style barbers dot the high street. Tensions boiled over there in February when a violent street fight outside one salon resulted in eight defendants facing charges. “Police shut down the whole street,” says John Williams, a 57-year-old unemployed decorator. “I blame the council. They let people come in here and do up these rundown shops.”

 

 

The answer may be economic desperation. A property agent in south Wales said many landlords are tempted by barbers offering “big money” well over asking price. “On a recent viewing in Cardiff, 15 of the 20 interested were Turkish-style barbers,” the agent said. “And they all knew each other, like they were cousins, brothers or whatever.”

 

Behind the barbershop boom lies a much bleaker picture: economic stagnation. In towns like Porth, the decline began long before online shopping. After the coalmines shut in the 1980s, jobs vanished. A 2024 study by Sheffield Hallam University found only 46 jobs for every 100 working-age residents in south Wales, compared to the national average of 75.

 

Paul Evans, a retired teacher, sits in the Old Library café eating cawl stew and reminisces about the vanished businesses—an electronics factory, a dairy, an industrial bakery. “They’ve all gone,” he says. “There’s a joke around here: what’s the difference between Porth and yoghurt? Yoghurt has a living culture.”

 

As for Adam, he’s already studying IT and plans to leave the scissors behind. The barbershop boom might be offering some short-term economic balm to landlords, but for many locals, it's a symbol of a town that’s lost its way.

 

Related Topic:

UK Turkish Barber Shops: How Criminal Gangs Use Them to Launder Money

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from The Times  2025-05-27

 

 

[JAG]

It is beyond obvious that the income from trimming beards and haircuts can't even begin to cover the costs of running the enterprises, particularly when you have so many clustered in small towns like this. However the larger towns and cities are awash with cash from drug dealings, and it has to be laundered, the banks wont touch it. It has to be passed through " legitimate businesses". 

 

Drive with your thousands of £ to a nearbye small town, parcel it out amongst half a dozen "barber shops", job done!

[animalmagic]

5 hours ago, JAG said:

It is beyond obvious that the income from trimming beards and haircuts can't even begin to cover the costs of running the enterprises, particularly when you have so many clustered in small towns like this. However the larger towns and cities are awash with cash from drug dealings, and it has to be laundered, the banks wont touch it. It has to be passed through " legitimate businesses". 

 

Drive with your thousands of £ to a nearbye small town, parcel it out amongst half a dozen "barber shops", job done!

Absolutely correct. There is no visible product being sold and no shelves to stock.

Quite similar to many cannabis shops where the sold product is burnt and records of amounts sold can be falsified.

[goldenbrwn1]

23 minutes ago, animalmagic said:

Absolutely correct. There is no visible product being sold and no shelves to stock.

Quite similar to many cannabis shops where the sold product is burnt and records of amounts sold can be falsified.

The councils don’t care they want their ridiculous rents and rates that many start up real businesses cannot afford . The Albanians, Turks and Kurds seem to manage with only 3 customers a week . Money talks and they are paying for the extortionate brick and mortar premises . 

[PETERTHEEATER]

There are a lot of sheep need shearing annually.......

[JonnyF]

On the bright side, at least there's no shortage of recreational drugs and BMW's in the area. 

[coolcarer]

The Turks need to launder their money and carry on their evil trade. 

[mikeymike100]

56 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

On the bright side, at least there's no shortage of recreational drugs and BMW's in the area. 

Correct so why don't the police investigate this phenomenon , instead of arresting people who post on social media?

[Yellowtail]

3 minutes ago, mikeymike100 said:

Correct so why don't the police investigate this phenomenon , instead of arresting people who post on social media?

You know why. 

[JonnyF]

14 minutes ago, mikeymike100 said:

Correct so why don't the police investigate this phenomenon , instead of arresting people who post on social media?

 

That would be Wacist.

 

11 hours ago, Social Media said:

Many are Turkish or Kurdish-owned, part of a national surge in similar salons

 

[Yellowtail]

These barber jobs are just one of the occupations that the lazy citizenry refuses to do.