Shepherd Neame wins Best UK Pub Company Award

Kent Cricket would like to congratulate sponsors, Shepherd Neame, whose pubs have won a top accolade at The Publican Awards 2013, held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in Park Lane.

Britain’s oldest brewer fought off stiff competition to win the Best Managed Pub Company (2-50 Sites) award, given to “a highly successful managed retail estate, which has shown strong innovation and performance in the last year”.

Jonathan Neame, Shepherd Neame chief executive, said: “I would like to congratulate our managed estate team for an outstanding win in a highly competitive field. It is their dedication and hard work which has been recognised by industry professionals, who were impressed with our attention to detail and enthusiasm.

“Shepherd Neame is consistently recognised for its excellence across many areas and we are very proud of our success.”

The brewery demonstrated significant enhancements to the food development team; and to training programmes across the managed estate, which in turn further improved customer service. The brewery also invested heavily in accommodation and catering facilities.

Shepherd Neame has demonstrated consistently high achievements with its pub estate; at the same awards last year, it won the Best Food Offer category.

The awards, hosted this year by comedian Rob Brydon, are presented following a rigorous judging process which puts entrants under intense professional scrutiny. It comprised site visits by The Publican’s Morning Advertiser staff and mystery visits by a specialist company.

Judging involved panel interviews with senior representatives of finalist companies who were quizzed by industry experts, City analysts and journalists.

Shepherd Neame’s managed estate of hotels, pubs, and inns consists of 46 sites, a mix of town, village, coastal and busy London locations and this year’s entry reflected a consistently improving performance.