Publican Awards Best Pub Operations Team winner: Heartwood Inns

The move has ensured that pubs coming into the group get the focus they need to hit the ground running, without having an impact on the resources and smooth running of the existing estate.

Operational regions are kept small so that members of the ops team can be in all their sites on a weekly basis.

Rapid growth

The Heartwood Collection’s food-led pub division is undergoing a period of rapid growth, including its first pubs with accommodation in early 2024, thanks to significant backing from investor Alchemy Partners.

The expansion into pubs with rooms has seen the addition of new team members with specific skills in that area to bolster the effectiveness of the ops team.

A rebranding exercise in 2023 successfully repositioned Heartwood Inns as a pub-focused group with a sharper definition to its customer-facing offer.

Regular and effective communications are key to the seamless operation of the management structure, helping to eliminate the friction between kitchens and front-of-house that can often be so prevalent in hospitality.

High standards

The group’s high standards in food are driven by a highly motivated senior chefs’ team with many years of experience in the business, ensuring consistency and high standards without stifling the flair and passion of the kitchen teams.

In all parts of the business there’s a well-structured programme of progression which provides an ongoing pipeline of talent to support the expansion plans.

Overall, the judges concluded that Harwood was a business on a sound financial footing with a bright and ambitious future, retaining attention to detail and a focus on standards along every step of the way without treating investment as a numbers game.