the most up-to-date brewing equipment, and a state of the art bottling line. The company is still in the family's hands, with the fifth generation coming into the business. There are currently six members of the family who work within the company, serving the Charles Wells Brewery, Charles Wells Pub Company, and John Bull Pub Company. Charles Wells Pub Company has an estate of more than 200 pubs predominantly based across the Eastern and Northern Home Counties regions, while Charles Wells beers are distributed through both the Charles Wells and Young's pub estates, as well as through various free houses Charles Wells Charles Wells, after whom the company is named, was born in Bedford in 1842; he left school at the age of 14 and ran away to sea by boarding the frigate 'Devonshire' which was bound for India. In the late 1860s, Wells was promoted to Chief Officer when he fell in love with and proposed to a Josephine Grimbley. Unfortunately, his prospective father-in-law put paid to his plans when he announced that no daughter of his would marry a man who would be away at sea for months at a time. And so Wells, desperate to marry his sweetheart, left his seafaring career and in 1876 established the Charles Wells Family Brewery to provide beer for the local population of Bedfordshire. Charles Wells Pub Company The Charles Wells Pub Company was formed as a distinct pub estate for Charles Wells Ltd when the parent company merged its brewing operations with London's Young's Brewery to form Wells & Young's Brewery. The pub company controls over 200 houses, all run on tenancy or lease agreements, and declared an operating profit of £6 million in December 2008. In 2013 the pub company announced its move into managed houses, with the first site set to open in 2014. The company has become well known for the support it gives to its licensees and won the title of Pub Company of the Year (tenanted/leased 200+) at The Publican Awards for two years running – in 2009 and 2010. Charles Wells also won The Retention Award at the Springboard Awards for Excellence 2010 and 2012 and Best Recruitment Initiative in 2011 in recognition of its work in recruiting, training and supporting licensees. A further accolade was achieved at The Publican Awards 2014 when Charles Wells won the Best Pub Operations Team category for companies