Head of Finance | PE-Backed Multi-Site Scaleup | London / Hybrid

Head of Finance | PE-Backed Multi-Site Scaleup | London

Harmonic are delighted to be partnering with a PE-backed, founder-led membership scaleup built for the creative industries in their search for a Head of Finance.

The Client

The business gives its members access to world-class creative and workspace facilities on flexible terms. It has grown from a single London site to a profitable multi-site estate with a fast-growing member base, and has recently completed a significant private equity investment alongside backing from a group of institutional investors and well-known operators from the workspace and creative worlds.

Further openings are already in the pipeline, with a rollout plan behind them and a long-term plan to build towards an exit.

Finance has been handled to date by an outsourced accounting team and a fractional CFO. This is the first senior finance hire the business has made in-house.

The Role

Reporting directly to the CEO and Co-Founder, the Head of Finance will be the source of truth for the business - the person the leadership team, the board and the investors turn to for a clear and current picture of performance.

At the centre of the role sits the company financial model, including the multi-site expansion model. It is rebuilt monthly and it is how the business decides where and how it grows. Around it you will own cash flow, the budgeting and reforecasting cycle, the monthly reporting pack and the board pack, and build the commercial insight that explains what the numbers are telling the business.

You will not inherit a finished finance function. You will design it: the processes, the systems, the reporting, and in time the team beneath you. There is real appetite for an AI-first approach, so there is scope to automate workflows and build a best in class function.

As the estate grows and the finance function grows with it, there is a path to Finance Director, alongside meaningful equity in a business being built for a significant exit.

Key Responsibilities

• Own and maintain the company financial model, including the multi-site expansion model, refreshing and re-baselining it monthly so it remains the version the board and investors make decisions from
• Own the rolling cash flow forecast: monitor liquidity, flag risk early, and run scenario and sensitivity analysis with the CEO to support decisions on new sites, capex and growth
• Run the budgeting and reforecasting cycle end to end: set and own the timetable, coordinate inputs from department and site leads, consolidate into the company budget, then track actuals and hold budget holders to their numbers
• Take draft management accounts from the outsourced accountants and refine, challenge and quality-check them into a clear monthly pack (P&L, balance sheet and cash flow) with variance analysis against budget and prior period
• Build the board pack and act as the finance point of contact for the board and private equity investor, producing investor-ready reporting and commentary that holds up to scrutiny
• Develop the reporting around the real drivers of the business, including utilisation, member acquisition and churn, and site-level unit economics, and bring a point of view to commercial decisions from pricing to new sites
• Take ultimate accountability for statutory and administrative compliance (year end accounts, VAT, EMI filings), managing the outsourced accounting firm to deadline, and own credit control in-house to keep debtor days low
• Build a modern, AI-first finance function: automate repetitive work, improve systems, and pull operational, accounting and CRM data into one reliable picture of the business
• Qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA or CIMA)
• Proven experience as a Finance Manager or Financial Controller in an SME, scale-up or multi-site business, having genuinely owned the function rather than a slice of it
• Track record of improving finance systems and processes, with a genuine appetite for AI and automation.
• Strong financial modelling and cash flow forecasting skills, with real fluency in Excel or Sheets. You have built and maintained a model that a board actually made decisions on
• Experience owning a budgeting and reforecasting cycle, including holding non-finance budget holders accountable to it
• Exceptional attention to detail
• Experience in a multi-site, bricks-and-mortar rollout business: hospitality, leisure, gyms, coffee, hotels, retail or flexible workspace
• Exposure to a private equity or institutionally backed business, including board and investor reporting
• Experience of physical expansion, site investment or capex planning
• Genuine interest in the media, music, film, or advertising space

Package

Location: London (2-3 days in office)

Start Date: Flexible (ASAP ideal)

At Harmonic, we are dedicated to fostering an inclusive and equitable workplace. We actively welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds and assure you that every candidate will be thoughtfully considered for the roles we represent, without regard to race, religion, gender expression, disability, or sexual orientation.