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Canterbury College student George Theze launches GT Fish business in Whitstable

A 16-year-old business student is angling for his own fish-selling empire.

George Theze is on a mission to hand deliver fresh seafood to people living in Whitstable, with his one-man company GT Fish.

The entrepreneurial teen - who studies at Canterbury College - came up with the idea while on a family holiday in Spain two years ago.

George Theze, 16, has started his own fish-selling business (5327244)
George Theze, 16, has started his own fish-selling business (5327244)

“My grandad wanted a particular fish, and we were absolutely going all over the place to find this fish he wanted,” he explained. “When we finally found it, I was filleting it and preparing it when I started thinking how great it would be to make all types of fish available to people in Whitstable.”

George, who lives in Borstal Avenue with his parents and younger brother and sister, founded GT Fish last year while at The Whitstable School - but had to put the venture on ice while he took his GCSEs.

Now, he has relaunched the business and hopes to build up a bank of regular customers.

“I had the idea at 14, executed it at 15 and now it’s running full-time at 16,” he said. “When I was 12 I had a website where I used to sell rare trainers, so I already knew how to design the website and take orders.

“We sell fish from all over the world - if you order fish from England it comes straight off fishing boats into Rye Harbour. We also sell species like swordfish and tuna from other places in the world. It’s all taken to a depot in Sevenoaks and I collect it.

“Our fish is so fresh - it can be refrigerated or frozen or cooked straight from the box.”

From a young age, George helped out at a seafood company part-owned by his dad, and he credits this experience with his comprehensive knowledge about the industry.

George is studying business at Canterbury College
George is studying business at Canterbury College

"I don't know anyone running a company at my age," he said. "But I don't think other people had the opportunities I had.

“I know a lot about fish - the different types, how to cut it, what prices it’s sold at. I’m following in my dad’s footsteps."

But George has big plans for his own company.

“The hope is to expand it to Canterbury as well. Eventually, I hope to deliver fish across Kent.

“At the moment I get lifts with a friend or with my mum. I’ve delivered fish by packing it in a backpack, in oxygen tight bags packed with ice, and cycling to Whitstable myself - I always find a way to get the fish to people who order it. But I’m hoping to be able to employ a driver before I can drive myself.”

For more information, visit www.gtfish.co.

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