The groundbreaking ceremony at the site of Wells & Co’s new Brewpoint headquarters

Work has started on the new state-of-the-art home and visitor centre for independent brewer and pub owner Wells & Co.

Clegg Food Projects, a national designer and constructor of food and drink manufacturing facilities, is the principal contractor responsible for delivering the Bedford based project, which is expected to be completed in early summer 2020.

The new site — called Brewpoint — also marks a historic moment in the brand’s 143-year history as it recently announced that it will be rebranding from Charles Wells to Wells & Co.

Brewpoint is primarily Wells & Co’s new headquarters and brewing facility, however the site will also incorporate a pub-restaurant, retail shop, coffee roastery, offices, and a visitor centre that will offer guided tours.

‘A statement of confidence about out future direction as a company’

Peter Wells, commercial director at Wells & Co, said: “The creation of our beautifully designed new home is a statement of confidence about our future direction as a company.

“Brewpoint will be capable of producing a range of beer styles that we could only have dreamed of ten years ago. Our new home and the growing investment in our managed pubs are reflective of our plans to meet the changing needs of the next generation of customers. In the last year alone we have added 12 pubs to our portfolio, while investing £3.5 million into enhancing our existing estate.”

Alongside the main brewing plant — which will be capable of producing 30,000 hectolitres of beer each year, equivalent to five million pints — Brewpoint will also have a small 100-litre brewing facility in order to provide a continual stream of something new to try at its bar every week.
It will also offer the opportunity for anybody to come and brew a beer at Brewpoint.

The site has been designed with sustainability in mind and has solar cells on the roof, solar shading, and air source heating and cooling, alongside a highly efficient modern brewing plant.