A dad who spent £20,000 building his own sports bar in his back garden complete with a HOT TUB has been crowned winner of Britain's Best Pub Shed.

Glen Gandy, 51, spent around two years constructing the incredible DIY man-cave from scratch at his home in Willenhall, West Mids.

The boozer, called Cognitos, boasts a DJ booth with decks, a Space Invaders arcade machine, juke box, its own beer garden, a jacuzzi and even a toilet/shower room.

Decked out in Wolverhampton Wanderers FC memorabilia, the footy-themed bar has now beat off 1,000 other entries to be named Pub Shed of the Year.

Glen said he never expected to win and the victory is even sweeter as one of the other three finalists is a fan of Wolves' arch rivals West Bromwich Albion.

Delighted dad-of-two Glen, who is a builder, said: "I was just honoured to get down to the final three really, I never expected to win at all. "

"We had a big party to celebrate, which is exactly what this pub was made for in the first place."

"It feels brilliant to win - especially beating a Baggies fan. "

"Funnily enough I know him and I plastered his home, so I'll be sure to give him a bit of stick."

"I actually put a couple of Wolves bits behind the wall for him, including a programme or two, so when he rips it down he know who the best team is."

"It's crazy he made the final too out of a thousand entries. I just never expected to be one of them either, let alone win it. I'm chuffed."

Glen's stunning creation was built with the help of friends beginning in June 2023 after he started planning the project during lockdown.

After sourcing materials from local builders merchants, he then spent 24 months on the build, which also has umbrellas and benches outside along with a barbecue and seating area.

The bar has signed Wolves shirts decorating the walls, a fridge fully-stocked with beer and a large screen TV.

He has since hosted many parties and get togethers with friends and family - including his daughter's recent 18th birthday with more than 100 guests.

He added: "When we started and finally got it built, I must admit I did get a bit carried away with it - I wanted to get everything as perfect as I could."

"There was a summer house there before and we just ripped it out and started from the ground up."

"The bar is block and render and fully insulated, a couple of benches in the beer garden were from my local and restored as they were throwing them away."

"I wanted to create a warm and welcoming space for family and friends to come and enjoy and make great memories. "

"The bar, console, and back bar we built ourselves again with the help of friends."



"We finished in April 2025 and we've had some amazing nights so far. We'll have parties, watch films there, I'll go up and DJ now and again."

"I have three passions - music, Wolves FC and entertaining."

"The bar is always fully stocked has a great sound system with ceiling speakers, power amp, DJ console, juke box, 85 inch TV and arcade machine."

"There is also a hot tub and toilet/shower room. Also there is split aircon unit so it can be used all year round. "

"I'm basically pretty lazy and got sick of clearing out the hot tub outside so I wanted a space inside for it - now there's no cleaning out leaves."

"We also built an outside BBQ area for the odd occasion we have some sun. Its certainly been a labour of love."

"The bar basically has two rules - 1. You don't need an invite and 2. Nobody gets out sober."

The bar name Cognitos is in memory of a comedian he knew - Ian Cognito - who became a good friend before he died on stage during a show.

He added: "I used to run comedy clubs and I got to know Ian very well before he died on stage in his 60s in a similar way to Tommy Cooper really."

"I always said that is what it would be called. It would be a legacy to him."

Twofatblokes.co.uk and Ngage Radio run the annual competition for beer-loving 'sheddies' to enter the converted Pub Shed of The Year.

Ashley Turner, from Two Fat Blokes Bar Sign Emporium, said: "This is our fifth year running the competition, the quality of the entries makes judging harder every year. "

"The winner Cognitos is a well deserved first place, What an amazing pub feel."

The winner was announced live on Ngage Radio on Saturday night (23/8).

DJ Danny Drayton said: " We're so proud to be involved with Pub Shed of the Year again, we have so many loyal listeners form the pub shed community. "

"They are really engaged with our station so being able to knock on the door of the winner live on the radio was a wonderful experience."