EVER since Wadworth began brewing beer in Devizes back in 1875, it has always had one eye on the future.

And right now, it is busy pumping up its portfolio of pubs.

In the last year the independent, family-owned company has made a major investment in its managed pubs and the food they serve, and it has received industry recognition.

Wadworth has been shortlisted for a duo of major accolades in the flagship Publican Awards 2017. The family brewer will be at a glittering London ceremony on March 14, hoping to lift the Best Managed Pub Company (51+ sites) and Best Food Offer awards.

Wadworth operations director Rupert Bagnall couldn’t be more chuffed.

“It’s tremendous to be shortlisted, a great thrill,” he enthused. “We have been looking to improve and grow our managed pubs, and we have been busy. At the end of last September we had 45 pubs, and now we have 53.”

They all fulfil Rupert’s stringent criteria.

“We want great pubs, but they must be the right pubs for Wadworth too,” he explained. “

Some pub companies go off and buy by the batch, say five to 10 pubs in one go, but we grow slowly and carefully by ones and twos.”

Wadworth has recently taken on pubs from the Punch company, and Greene King.

These are big industry players with portfolios running to 3,000-plus hostelries but, said Rupert, Wadworth prides itself on its collection of 220-plus tenanted and managed pubs across ‘Wadworthshire’, within a 90-miles radius of Devizes, and it has been particularly picky about boosting its managed pubs portfolio.

“To give you an idea of our standards, Greene King had 90 pubs for sale, and we made an offer for just two,” said Rupert. “We aim to be selective, not greedy, and they must fit with our quality portfolio – they have to be the kind of pub our customers will drive past and say – hey, that must be a Wadworth pub!”

Making Wadworth pubs tick, said Rupert, are their managers and staff – and they are just as precise about selecting the right people for the job, such as Richard Jennings, general manager of a great buzzy pub, The Pheasant at Chippenham, which serves food all day. Last year he was named Wadworth’s manager of the year.

“Richard took over a failing pub five years ago and every year since then he has quadrupled profitability,” Rupert enthused. “He is always looking for new and innovative ways to do this such as his weekend ‘eat as much as you like’ breakfasts, a bargain at £6.95 – on one recent Sunday he told me he served 130 breakfasts, and that’s between 8am and 11am, quite something!”

And Richard set a record with his carvery, which he introduced five years ago and is ultra-popular. On Fathers’ Day last year 935 roast dinners were served.

Richard, 47, who will be attending the Publican Awards ceremony in London with Rupert and Wadworth CEO Chris Welham, admitted with a grin that he did seem to have had a “bit of a Midas touch”.

He has been in the hospitality business for 27 years and runs The Pheasant with his fiancée Lesley. They have two children – Georgia, seven, and four-year-old Jack – and they are proud of the pub’s family-friendly focus.

He said the carvery was something new for a Wadworth pub when he suggested the idea in 2011.

“We decided that a carvery would go really well at The Pheasant,” Richard explained. “We did our homework and discovered there was nowhere within a 19-mile radius with a full-time carvery. Wadworth made a huge investment in this, and our feet haven’t touched the ground since!”

And now Wadworth is showing even more confidence in its top manager by investing £1m in building 16 guest rooms at The Pheasant with work getting under way after Easter.

The couple are delighted but, Richard stressed: “We couldn’t do it without our staff — we have a team of more than 40 and they are brilliant.”

He described Wadworth as “a breath of fresh air – a family-owned company which isn’t always focused on targets.

“They have great values, and that cascades down to the shop floor. They are a great company to work for.”

Operations director Rupert is particularly proud of the managed pubs in Wadworth’s Wiltshire heartland. Notable successes include The White Hart at Wroughton, where ten beautifully decorated guest rooms have boosted trade, while at The Cross Keys, Lower Wanborough, landlords Darren and Kirstie Mingham have hit the ground running with praise from happy customers.

“When Darren and Kirstie took over just before Christmas we did a mini makeover at The Cross Keys, just to tidy it up, and they are already doing a super job,” Rupert commented.

Last October, one of Devizes’ oldest pubs, The Three Crowns in Maryport Street, reopened after a £400,000 revamp, and trade is flourishing.

Rupert said: “We gave this former back street boozer a new look, a new menu, and a new vibe – and it’s hit the spot.”

Wadworth is delighted that its pub food is hitting the mark too, being shortlisted for the Publican Awards. A major accolade has been Coeliac accreditation for its gluten-free menus which are available in all its managed pubs. Wadworth introduced these dishes based on the success of one of its pubs, Bartons Mill at Old Basing, where the gluten-free dishes were very popular.

“Getting Coeliac accreditation was a really big thing for a family business like ours,” said Rupert, “But we consider ourselves forward-thinking. Some people slightly turn their noses up at intolerances but it’s a not a fad and it will be the norm within five years – we are proud to be ahead of the game.”

He added: “We look for consistency in our pub food, not a flash in the pan. We are passionate about provenance, sourcing locally and offering seasonal menus. The standard of our food has changed out of all recognition in the past five years, and the pubs don’t all have the same menus, we respond to customer needs. So we cover the whole range, it’s not just top end food, there’s tapas too, and bar snacks.

“We don’t run restaurants and we don’t do gastro food. We pride ourselves on great pubs, first, and great food alongside. But we don’t feel customers should feel obliged to eat – if you just want a drink then that’s fine.”

Rupert said it had been a good year for the food side of the business and, over the last five years, there had been “double digit like-for-like food sales growth.”

The Victorian tower brewery of Wadworth is a landmark in the centre of Devizes and the brewery combines a craft tradition with modern production techniques and systems. Founded by Henry A Wadworth, the business passed to his founding partner John Smith Bartholomew and is now in the fourth generation of management by the Bartholomew family.

Quirky features like pub signs hand-painted in their own design shop, and the Shire horses that deliver daily around the town endears Wadworth to the people of Devizes. And, of course, the beer is at the heart of all this – the flagship 6X stands alongside Wadworth IPA, Swordfish, Horizon, Bishop’s Tipple and Corvus Stout. Then there are the Beer Kitchen craft beers and seasonal brews such as Dirty Rucker, currently on pump for the Six Nations rugby championship.

Devizes folk are sure to be getting behind their historic brewery at the Publican Awards on March 14. Wadworth CEO Chris Welham commented: “We are extremely proud to reach the finals. This is a testament to the hard work of our teams who run our pubs and work tirelessly for customers to make their day.”

Cheers to that.