Head of Finance - Commercial. Hospitality / Leisure

Finance Leadership | Multi-Site Hospitality | Commercial Strategy | Systems & Automation

Love the Numbers. Understand the Business. Help Shape What Comes Next.

Welcome to Tewinbury Group , an entrepreneurial, family-run hospitality business growing at around 15% year on year.

Rooted in farming, our Hertfordshire portfolio includes Tewinbury Farm Hotel, The View at Panshanger Golf Course, Hertford House Hotel and a 700-acre working farm, alongside events, wellness experiences and exciting new projects.

We're looking for an experienced Head of Finance & Commercial to lead our finance function and become a trusted commercial partner to the family and leadership team.

This is a broad, hands-on role in a close-knit, no-egos business where everyone mucks in. You'll ensure the numbers, controls, cash and compliance are right, while helping operational leaders improve performance and turning commercial opportunities into practical, measurable results.

Rigorous about the fundamentals. Entrepreneurial in outlook. Commercially switched on.

The Role at a Glance

Head of Finance & Commercial

Tewinbury Farm Hotel | Welwyn, Hertfordshire

Site-Based | 5 Days per Week | Some Flexibility

Salary DOE + c.15% Profit-Based Bonus

Full-Time | Permanent | 40 Hours

Reporting to: Director of Strategy

Direct Reports: 2

Start Date: ASAP Preferred

Own the Finance Function

Lead finance across multiple Group entities, overseeing reporting, controls, compliance and a small, established team.

Key responsibilities include:

• Managing 13 four-weekly period-end closes, reconciliations and management accounts
• Budgets, forecasts, board reporting and financial analysis
• Multi-entity accounting, intercompany transactions and consolidation
• VAT, payroll, pensions, banking, cash flow and working capital
• Financial controls, statutory accounts, tax and year-end processes
• Developing the finance team and ensuring accurate, meaningful reporting

Bring Commercial Thinking to the Table

Work closely with operational teams and the family board to improve profitability, identify opportunities and support commercial decisions.

You'll analyse labour costs, stock, gross margins, event profitability and operational efficiency, helping managers understand their P&Ls and improve performance.

Your commercial remit includes:

• Procurement, supplier negotiations and cost efficiencies
• Commercial agreements, insurance, leases and rental income
• Capital expenditure and project costing
• Financial modelling, investment appraisals and risk assessment
• Supporting new ventures and operational improvements

You'll have direct board access and genuine influence over business decisions, combining commercial judgement with clear communication.

Make Finance Smarter

Champion AI, automation and smarter reporting to reduce manual processes, improve efficiency and provide faster financial insights.

The goal is a leaner, more commercially focused finance function that actively supports business growth.

About You

Strong hospitality finance experience is a priority.

You'll have proven finance leadership experience within hotels, multi-site restaurants or a comparable hospitality or leisure environment, ideally supporting a business with £10m–£20m turnover through growth.

What You'll Bring:

• Hands-on financial management across period-end, management accounts, budgets and forecasts
• Strong VAT knowledge, ideally involving multiple entities and varied income streams
• Experience managing cash flow, banking, payments, payroll and financial controls
• Commercial business partnering within an operational hospitality environment
• Confidence analysing profitability, identifying opportunities and implementing improvements
• The ability to produce practical financial models and business cases at pace
• Experience leading a finance team and working with external accountants
• Strong systems capability and an interest in AI, automation and process improvement
• Excellent stakeholder management, with the confidence to challenge senior leaders constructively
• The ability to manage competing priorities, work independently and adapt to a fast-moving business

Qualifications & Additional Experience

A professional accounting qualification is desirable, with CIMA preferred, although ACA, ACCA, part-qualified and strong qualified-by-experience candidates will also be considered.

Relevant hospitality experience and proven delivery matter more to us than qualifications alone.

Experience with hospitality PMS/POS systems, commercial insurance, banking facilities, capital projects, contracts or finance systems implementation would also be valuable.

Nobody is above helping out. No egos. Just people who care about making the business work.

You'll ideally live within a 30–40 minute commute of Tewinbury. Welwyn North station offers connections from North London, although onward transport is needed to reach the hotel.

Why Tewinbury?

You'll have a genuine seat at the leadership table of a growing family business, with the autonomy to improve how finance operates and the opportunity to influence commercial decisions across a diverse hospitality portfolio.

The package includes:

• Competitive salary DOE
• Profit-based bonus of circa 15% of salary
• Private healthcare
• Subsidised Farm Fitness gym membership
• Hotel stays at Tewinbury and partner hotels as part of R&D
• Meals on duty
• Employee discounts across Tewinbury Group venues
• Free on-site parking

If you're a hands-on hospitality finance leader who enjoys being close to the operation, bringing commercial ideas to life and making a tangible difference, we'd love to hear from you.

Apply now - Please direct all interest directly to our Talent Partners RR. Thanks.

Application notice... We take your privacy seriously. As you might expect you may be contacted by email, text or telephone. Your data is processed by our talent partner RR (Recruitment Revolution) on the basis of their legitimate interests in fulfilling the recruitment process. Please refer to their Data Privacy Policy & Notice on their website for further details.