How Newquay’s Got Crabs landed £33,000 to keep its catch fresh

A gap in the crab market

Then the supply dried up. Good local crab meat became hard to get hold of, and the Wergers worked out the only affordable route was to cut out the middle. They started buying direct from dayboat fishermen landing in Newquay and Padstow, and processing the catch themselves.

Owner-operated day boats are the heart of Cornwall’s fishing industry, with traceability and sustainability built in. Brown crab is caught in the waters between St Ives and Padstow. The gap between catch and land is short, undersized and breeding stock go back in the water, and weather restrictions give stocks a chance to recover.

Cooked modern, picked traditional

The method splits old and new. The meat is steamed and chilled with the latest kit, then hand-picked using techniques as old as Cornish fishing itself.

“It’s a labour intensive job,” says Tim.

Having learned on the hoof from suppliers and chef contacts, the couple turned out to be naturals. The sandwich trade slipped into the background as Got Crabs found itself supplying crab and lobster meat to restaurants across Cornwall and beyond for high-end menu dishes.

Four years on, they have just taken on their fifth employee. Tim hopes “the best crab sandwiches in Cornwall” will make a comeback in summer 2027.

“It feels like if you start a new business in Cornwall, people are more likely to give you a go. It’s more community focused,” he says.

The £33,000 that paid for a tank

The funding covered a larger filtration tank, which keeps the crustaceans fresher for longer. Grant-savvy fishing contacts in Padstow pointed Tim towards the Start Up Loans programme, part of the British Business Bank, which offers personal loans of up to £25,000 per director along with free mentoring.

Loans of £25,000 can be delivered in two tranches. In their case an initial loan of £20,000 came first, followed by a second loan of £12,932, made up of the remaining £5,000 plus what had been paid back since the trading start date.

“The interest rate was fantastic,” says Tim, “and the process was great, especially the due diligence. Like us, it was all about doing things properly.”

SWIG Finance is the Bank’s Business Support Partner for the government-backed programme in the South West. Last year alone it delivered £8 million in Start Up Loan funding to more than 400 new and early-stage businesses.

Jules Burton, Start Up Loans Officer for SWIG Finance, says: “I was impressed with Tim’s resilience in an industry which can be impacted by circumstances beyond one’s control. He showed an aptitude for learning and pivoting the business in order to respond quickly to change and customer need.”