In 1865, Newton was a grain and seed broker in High Street, Hull. In the 1870s he was a yeast merchant in Burton-on-Trent with his father. Later he was in partnership with his brothers, William and George Beeforth Newton Jr., in a chandlery and shipping business called Newton Brothers of Burton on Trent and Hull. In 1874, they purchased a diving cutter and specialised in salvage, raising or breaking-up sunken ships that were a danger to navigation. This sometimes involved the use of explosives, and there was at least one fatality when a diver working for them drowned in 1875. They expanded their fleet of ships, commissioning the 310 ft steamer "Principia" in 1881 for the India trade. In 1882 the British Government leased this ship, with others that they owned, to transport troops and materiel to the conflict in Egypt. This same year the partners opened a head office in the City of London at 19 Billiter Street.