As of November 2024, there are 17 supermarket chains currently operating in the United Kingdom. The food retail market has been dominated by the 'big four' supermarkets – Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons – which made up more than three quarters of sector market share in 2010. Tesco is the largest retailer in Great Britain, with a market share of 28.5% at the start of 2025.
However, discounters Lidl and Aldi have grown rapidly. A number of sources reported that in September 2022, Aldi overtook Morrisons to become Great Britain's fourth largest grocery retailer. At the end of 2022, Morrisons and Aldi both remained at 9.1%. Collectively, the big four accounted for two thirds and the big four and discounters combined for five sixths of the grocery market share at the start of 2025.
Northern Ireland has similar major chains. In 2022, Tesco was the largest retailer in NI, followed by Sainsbury's, Asda and Lidl. However, the market is different because some chains are not shared between the different parts of the UK. For example, Aldi and Morrisons do not operate there.
Historical background
Before 1932, British grocery stores operated as counter service; however, that year David Greig opened the first self-service grocery store in the UK at Turnpike Lane, Hornsey, but the store, although a success, was closed down after eight months of the experiment. The first permanent self-service grocery store in the United Kingdom was opened 12 January 1948 in Manor Park, London by the Co-op, with Tesco opening its first self-service grocery store and Marks & Spencer starting a trial of self-service in the same year. Sainsbury’s opened its first self-service branch in Croydon in 1950. By 1951, the Co-op had 604 self-service stores. In the same year, Express Dairies opened Britain's first supermarket under the Premier Supermarket brand in Streatham, South London, while the first Fine Fare was opened as a single supermarket later that year, as an offshoot of the Welwyn Department Store.
Waitrose opened its first supermarket in Streatham during 1955, although its first self service store had opened at its subsidiary Schofield & Martin in 1951. Tesco, though, did not open its first supermarket until 1956 in Maldon, Essex, while Morrisons was not until 1961, and Asda was not until 1963. By 1959, multiple grocery retailers accounted for only 10% of grocery outlets and 25% of the British market; however, by a decade later the expansion of supermarkets had seen them take 41% of all grocery turnover. The growth of the supermarket is also shown in store numbers, with Britain having only 175 supermarkets in 1958, but this had expanded to 2,803 by 1967. Britain's first out of town supermarket was opened by American retailer GEM in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire in November 1964.
List of current UK supermarket chains Chain operatorsLogoOwned byBased inMarket share (%)2007: 2000: Store countBrandsNotes2025201520072000Aldi UKAldi Süd GmbHAtherstone10.85.62.61.51,091 Aldi Aldi LocalNo frills supermarketAmazon Fresh UKAmazonLondon – - – –19Cashierless store, closed in late 2025Asda TDR Capital (67.5%) Mohsin Issa (22.5%) Walmart (10%)Leeds12.616.416.614.11,106 Asda Express Asda Living Asda On the Move Asda Supercentre Asda Supermarket Asda SuperstoreFounded by merger of Queens (owned by the Asquith family) and Associated Dairies.BoothsBooth Family and staffPreston- - – –26Only operating in northern EnglandCo-op FoodVarious consumers' co-operatives and The Co-op GroupManchester (The Co-op Group)5.26.34.45.42,500 Co-op Co-op On the Go Nisa Express Nisa Local Nisa Extra Welcome About 16 retail co-operatives with a shared Identity, the seven largest are:FarmfoodsUK private companyCumbernauld- -0.5 –340Started as a meat processing business in Aberdeen in 1954. Primarily focused on Frozen foods
Opened first retail outlet in the 1970s also in Aberdeen.Heron FoodsB&MMelton- - – –290 Heron Foods B&M ExpressPrimarily frozen foods; concentrated mainly in the Midlands and the North.
Heron Foods was bought in 2017 with some stores re-branded to B&M Express since 2018.IcelandThe Walker and Dhaliwal familiesDeeside2.4 -1.62.81,030 Iceland Iceland Local The Food WarehouseFirst store opened at Oswestry, Shropshire in 1970Lidl GB & NILidl Stiftung & Co. KGKingston upon Thames8.24.42.21.31,062No frills supermarketMarks & SpencerPublicly traded on theLondon Stock ExchangeLondon4.2 -4.3 –852Clothing and food retailerMorrisonsClayton, Dubilier & RiceBradford8.610.811.24.9542 Morrisons Morrisons Superstore Morrisons Daily Morrisons SelectFrom 2011 to 2015 also operated M Local (later MyLocal) convenience stores.OcadoPublicly traded on theLondon Stock ExchangeHatfield1.9 - – –0Online only, product supply partnership with M&S.OseyoUK private companyKingston upon Thames - - – –20 Asian goods chain; such as from Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Thai and Indian.ProudfootFamily ownedScarborough – - – –5Small independent chain with shops around Scarborough.Sainsbury'sPublicly traded on theLondon Stock ExchangeLondon15.916.616.217.91,430 Sainsbury's Sainsbury's Superstore Sainsbury's LocalTescoPublicly traded on theLondon Stock ExchangeWelwyn Garden City28.527.931.625.02,932 (UK) Tesco Tesco Superstore Tesco Extra Tesco Express One Stop Shoprite was bought in 2023 and branding phased. From May 2021, Tesco Metro stores were phased out and re-branded as Tesco Express or Tesco.
Tesco purchased Booker Group in 2018, the group includes Budgens as well asLondis, Premier, and Family Shopper symbol groups.Waitrose & PartnersJohn Lewis PartnershipBracknell4.65.23.92.7344 Waitrose Little Waitrose John Lewis Foodhall Food, Fashion & Home Food & Home Welcome Break outlets(motorway services)
List of defunct UK supermarket chains These supermarkets are either no longer trading, have been renamed, or have been taken over and re-branded.
Chain operatorsFateClosedNotesAdsega1960Bought by Tesco1965Formed by Martin Green and Henry Seaberg. North East England based, had budget model and around 50 stores. It was purchased by Tesco in 1965 for slightly more than £1 million.Ailsa Superstores1970sSmall chain of Scotland-based supermarkets, owned by Allied Suppliers (51%) and Goldberg Department Stores (49%).AJ & M Freezer FoodsPurchased by IcelandNewcastle-upon-Tyne based freezer food chain.APT StoresSmall supermarket chain with the catchphrase The Store with More.Axe StoresCreated in 1976 by Italian supermarket chain PAM with British partner Hintons, the partner was bought by PAM in 1978. The 15 stores were bought by the management team in 1987. The company used the slogan Axe – Cut of Value.Bateman & SonsBought by Booker Group and merged into Budgens.1973Chain of 31 supermarkets and 17 self-service stores based in South Wales.Bejam1968Bought by Iceland1989Frozen food chain started by John Apthorp in London, it grew became the biggest frozen food, freezer and microwave seller in the United Kingdom. The business was bought by Iceland after a hostile bid.Big W1998Discontinued, re-branded as Woolworths200421-megastores chain started by Kingfisher plc, to include all the products of its chains, Woolworths, B&Q, Comet and Superdrug. Seven stores sold groceries via a partnership deal with Booker Group and were sold to Asda and Tesco; the remaining 14 stores re-branded and downsized under the regular Woolworths banner.Bishops StoresBought by Budgens198463 stores in south east England.Bonimart Freezer Centre1981Purchased by Argyll Foods and added to Cordon Bleu chain.BP Safeway1998Dissolved2004Joint venture between Safeway and BP that operated forecourt convenience stores. Morrisons bought Safeway in 2004 and the partnership was dissolved. Morrisons then had no plans to enter into the convenience store market and, in September 2005, Morrisons sold twenty-one of the sites to Tesco for conversion to Tesco Express stores. The other nine reverted to BP ownership through a Right of first refusal and five of the nine were later sold to Somerfield.Brian Ford's Discount Store1975Bought by Tesco in 20042010Opened by Brian Ford after the sale of the family Ford & Lock business to Gateway in 1974. The business opened in the former Deveres Kensington engineering building in Barnstaple, Devon expanding with an extension in 1981. The business was based on the 'cash & carry' principle.