An Argentinian-inspired Asado grill company based in Somerset has doubled in size, brought its manufacturing in-house and sold more than 1,000 products thanks to successive funding delivered by SWIG Finance.
The Somerset Grill Co was launched in 2020 with a Government-backed £7,000 Start Up Loan and has since received further SWIG Business Loan funding of £107,000 to help the business grow and keep up with demand. 
Start Up Loans is part of the British Business Bank and offers personal loans of up to £25,000 and free mentoring to help anyone start or grow a new or early-stage business.
Asado is a traditional Argentinian grilling technique involving cooking meat and company founder Ben Naylor and engineer brother Tom designed their own asado grill – one that would be within financial reach of all keen outdoor cooks and fit perfectly into customers’ gardens.
Their prototypes were created in a shipping container in Taunton before moving to larger premises just off the A303.
SWIG Finance Business manager, Rachael Taylor, helped Ben through the business loan process: “SWIG was awesome,” said Ben.
“It’s good to have normal people at the end of the phone rather than AI sticking you through the system. Rachael made it all very simple: bang, bang, bang. Having to do a business plan makes you get your ideas in line.”
Rachael added: “Somerset Grill has been a fantastic scale-up story and I am really pleased that SWIG could help.
“In just a few years, Ben has not only designed and brought to market an affordable product aimed at the mass market, he has also worked very hard to bring the manufacturing process back to the UK.”
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