Reports to: Hotel General Manager (dotted line to Head of Finance)
Location: Hybrid during pre-opening, full-time on-site (Farthingstone) once operational
Contract: Permanent, full-time
Start Date: March 2027
About Fifty Five Hospitality
Fifty Five Hospitality is creating a new brand of ultra-luxury hotels and resorts rooted in nature and wellness within easy reach of global gateway cities.
Our first hotel, Farthingstone, is a new-build ultra-luxury countryside hotel in Northamptonshire, less than two hours north of London, in an outstanding natural environment with an exceptional wellness offering. Future hotels will follow in prime international locations.
We are a small, private equity-backed team of experienced hotel executives, a two-Michelin-starred chef and specialists from corporate, interior design and global creative backgrounds. As owner, developer, brand and operator, we are building a hospitality company from the ground up, so every hire is fundamental in shaping how we build and how we operate.
This is a chance to be our first Hotel Financial Controller, building the finance processes and controls that will become the template for future hotels.
Role Summary
The Financial Controller is the senior finance presence at Farthingstone, a 61-key ultra-luxury resort with a projected team of 150+ and revenue across rooms, spa and wellness, F&B and events. They will report to the General Manager as part of the on-site leadership team, with a dotted line to the Head of Finance for reporting, governance and group policy.
Working with the Head of Finance, they will build the resort’s finance systems, controls and processes ahead of opening, then run them day-to-day. This is a hands‑on role, supported by investment in best-in-class systems, with scope to grow as the Group expands.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead implementation and testing of the hotel’s operational systems and their integration with the central finance systems ahead of bookings opening and soft opening.
- Lead the pre‑opening and Year 1 operating budgets with the GM, with revenue assumptions agreed with the Head of Commercial and aligned to the investment case.
- Work with Procurement to track FF&E and OS&E spend against the opening capex budget, recording assets in line with the group capitalisation policy. Development and construction capex will remain with Central Finance.
- Design local financial procedures within group policy: cash handling, stocktakes, on‑site segregation of duties and PCI DSS compliance at payment points.
- Design the revenue accounting set‑up (revenue codes and package splits, city ledger, daily revenue reconciliation process) and define the USALI departmental P&L structure.
- Work with HR to build the rota and timesheet process and support recruitment.
- Report pre‑opening progress to the Head of Finance and GM, covering systems readiness, recruitment, budget and capex tracking.
Financial Operations & Control
- Oversee the night audit and own the daily revenue reconciliation and flash report. Reconcile the city ledger, approve direct billing and resolve guest billing disputes.
- Provide on‑site input, accruals and variance commentary for the Central Finance month‑end.
- Execute and oversee on‑site controls: PO approval, goods receiving, stocktakes, cash counts, till reconciliations and petty cash.
- Work with HR to approve timesheets, manage rota and labour cost input, and submit new starter information for central payroll processing. Assist HR with on‑site staff payroll queries. Provide service charge and tips data to the troncmaster and reconcile tronc balances.
- Ensure VAT is coded correctly at source in the PMS and EPOS, including packages, deposits, spa and service charge.
- Own the operational systems and the quality of the data feeding into Central Finance.
- Act as the on‑site contact for external audit queries and elevate hotel‑level financial risks.
Planning & Performance
- Lead the annual budget with the GM and Heads of Department, building department‑owned budgets that flex with occupancy and demand.
- Own rolling forecasts and monthly variance analysis and present the management accounts to the on‑site leadership team.
- Manage site‑level drivers of working capital and provide input to the central cash flow forecast.
- Drive gross profit management across F&B and spa including menu and treatment costing.
Business Partnering
- Be a trusted financial adviser to the GM and leadership team, translating performance into clear, actionable insight for non‑finance Heads of Department.
- Partner with the Head of Commercial on revenue assumptions, pricing, margin and billing terms for group and events business.
- Partner with HR on workforce planning, labour cost management and the financial case for L&D investment.
- Provide ad hoc modelling and scenario analysis to support operational decisions.
Central Finance Relationship
- Deliver accurate, timely site reporting to Central Finance in the required format and cadence for group and board reporting, in line with the group chart of accounts and policies.
- Provide site input as group processes and reporting templates are developed, with Farthingstone used as the first live implementation.
- Understand group banking covenants and the site‑level drivers behind them.
Candidate Profile
Experience
- Financial Controller experience in luxury hospitality, or an experienced Assistant Financial Controller ready to step up. Pre‑opening experience is a strong advantage.
- Experience operating across a multi‑revenue‑stream operation (rooms, spa and wellness, F&B, events) rather than rooms‑only.
- Experience with payroll, tronc and financial controls for a large workforce.
- Desirable: Experience with hotel finance systems (PMS, EPOS, procurement, spa) and using AI or automation to improve financial processes.
Skills & Attributes
- Strong technical accounting ability paired with genuine commercial acumen, able to translate numbers into insight the GM and Heads of Department can act on.
- Comfortable as the senior finance presence on‑site without Central Finance physically present day to day.
- Excellent stakeholder management, able to balance the expectations of the GM and Head of Finance where priorities differ.
- Rigorous on control and compliance, while remaining pragmatic and solutions‑focused in a fast‑moving pre‑opening environment.
- A builder's mindset: energised by creating infrastructure that doesn’t yet exist, and by the accountability of a fixed opening date.
Qualifications
- ACA, ACCA or CIMA qualified.
- Strong working knowledge of USALI.
Practical Requirements
- Pre‑opening: location will be a blend of Farthingstone, London and home working.
- Once operational, this role will be based on‑site full‑time, with occasional travel to London.
- Full UK driving licence is useful due to limited public transport. Flexibility to work occasional evenings/weekends around business needs, particularly through the pre‑opening period.
What Success Looks Like
By Opening
- Reservations and payment systems live ahead of bookings opening.
- Finance systems, controls and reporting infrastructure live and tested ahead of soft opening.
- Rota, timesheet and payroll input processes tested for a workforce scaling to 150+.
- Pre‑opening and Year 1 operating budget agreed with the GM and the Board.
First 12 Months of Operation
- Accurate, timely monthly reporting to the GM and Central Finance.
- Robust cash, gross profit and cost management through the ramp‑up period, and a clean first external audit.
- A trusted working relationship between Finance and the operational team.
- Finance processes proven robust enough to template for the next property.
What We Offer
- Competitive salary with discretionary annual bonus.
- Enhanced pension scheme.
- Salary sacrifice schemes (EV, cycle‑to‑work) available after probation.
- Private medical and dental insurance.
- 33 days’ annual leave (including bank holidays).
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