A 23-year-old entrepreneur from Peterborough has received funding to buy his own fish and chip shop.

Getting a taste for life as a business owner is recent graduate Jasraj Sidhu, who has taken ownership of Werrington Traditional Fish and Chips.

On leaving university with a degree in finance and accountancy, the young businessman took inspiration from parents Linzer and Daljit. The seasoned entrepreneurs ‒ who encouraged their six children to help out in the family businesses growing up ‒ run a supermarket in nearby Huntingdon and manage several rental properties.

Mr Sidhu said, “I came out of uni not sure which path I wanted to take, but after chatting with family and researching the market it became clear that becoming my own boss was the right way to go.”

Seeing Werrington Traditional Fish and Chips up for sale, the young entrepreneur turned to NatWest ‒ securing a six-figure loan through the government-backed Funding for Lending Scheme.

Mr Sidhu now runs the chippy single handedly, also managing a team of seven staff. The shop uses only locally-sourced produce and specialises in cooking fried-fare the traditional way.

He added, “The shop already had a really good reputation locally and it’s my priority to keep that going. It feels great to be my own boss and I’m determined to grow the business while sticking to its traditional roots.”

Martin Brooks, relationship manager for NatWest, said, “It has been a real pleasure to have been able to support Jasraj on his journey to becoming a business owner.

“I am confident that he’s got what it takes to make a real success of Werrington Traditional Fish and Chips and I look forward to watching the business grow.”