Wadworth Brewery has been crowned Pub Company of the Year for its managed estate in a top pub industry awards ceremony.

The Wiltshire based company fought off stiff competition from five other finalists to win the prestigious Publican Award in the category Managed Pub Company of the Year (20-99 outlets).

Rupert Bagnall, Wadworth’s managed house operations manager, said: “We are delighted to have won such a highly competitive award and to have been recognised for the service we provide for our pub managers and customers.

“We have worked incredibly hard over the past year to make small changes across our 38 managed houses, boosting our food and drink offering and investing in staff training and the recruitment process, so it’s fantastic to have this publicly acknowledged.”

The judging panel, composed of leading experts in the field, was impressed with the steps the brewery had taken to transform its business during what had been a challenging year for the pub trade.

Caroline Nodder, editor of The Publican, added: “Hundreds of entries were judged to a shortlist of 114 finalists across 19 categories so to win represents the pinnacle of achievement for licensees and pub companies in the UK.”

Wadworth brewery was also shortlisted in the category for Regional Brewer of the Year and Wadworth pub The Sun in The Wood in Berkshire was shortlisted for Marketing Pub of The Year.

The award was presented to brewery representatives by comedians Justin Lee-Collins and Alan Carr.