Zest Leisure Group
Head of Finance
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This is not your everyday BAU finance role.
We are a well-established, highly profitable and founder-led leisure and hospitality group operating premium sites across London - and we are growing: new site openings, new concepts in development, and a major property development project on the horizon.
We are hiring our No.1 in Finance: a commercially sharp, hands-on Head of Finance who will own the numbers end to end, act as strategic business partner to the Managing Director (a chartered accountant who stays close to the detail) and help shape what the next three to five years look like.
The successful candidate will be appointed Head of Finance with a defined, evidence-based route to the Finance Director title within two to three years - linked to delivery milestones (clean reporting cycles, ownership of board reporting and banking relationships, and a leading role in the financing of our development project), not simply time served. If you are a Financial Controller or Head of Finance currently blocked behind an incumbent FD, this is the seat that unblocks your career.
The role is primarily office based in south-west London (4 days per week, 1 day from home) with a sensible approach to flexibility.
WHAT YOU WILL OWN
- Strategic partnership. Work directly with the MD on strategy, expansion decisions, pricing and investment appraisal - turning numbers into recommendations, not just reports.
- Management accounts and control. End-to-end ownership of the monthly close in Xero: P&L, balance sheet and cashflow for each site and the consolidated group, robust reconciliations, and a disciplined month-end timetable.
- Cash, banking and audit. Day-to-day cashflow and working capital management; over time, ownership of our banking relationships, covenant reporting, and the annual audit as the client-side lead.
- Commercial insight. Weekly and monthly performance reporting to site General Managers and the senior leadership team - trading, margins, payroll percentages, attrition and cost control - surfacing risks and opportunities early.
- Labour and rota economics. Own labour cost forecasting and rota modelling across the sites, ensuring fairness, clarity and operational alignment.
- Projects and development finance. Support the appraisal, funding and financial control of our property development project - genuine capital-project finance exposure that is rare at this level.
- Systems and automation. Build a lean, modern, automation-first finance function. We would rather automate a process than hire around it, and we expect our finance leader to think the same way - including practical, hands-on use of AI tools.
- Compliance. Oversight of payroll, invoicing, VAT and tax matters, working with our external accountants and advisers.
- Team leadership. Manage, mentor and develop a small finance and admin team (Management Accountant, Credit Controller and Bookkeeper) and shape what the function needs to become as the group grows.
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ABOUT YOU
- Degree educated and fully qualified (ACA / ACCA / CIMA), ideally with first-time passes.
- A minimum of 5–7 years' post-qualified experience in senior, commercially focused finance roles.
- SME or growing-business experience is essential; multi-site consumer, leisure or hospitality experience is strongly preferred - you understand site P&Ls, seasonality and labour-led cost bases.
- A builder, not a maintainer: you can point to systems, models, processes and reports you have personally created in the last twelve months – and you are hands-on in Excel to an advanced level.
- Outstanding written communication. Board papers, bank correspondence and supplier negotiations will carry your name; your written English must be clear, precise and professional under time pressure - this is assessed as part of our process.
- Exposure to capital projects, development finance, fundraising or transactions is a genuine advantage, though not essential.
- A skilled and empathetic leader of small teams, comfortable working directly with a hands-on founder and challenging constructively when the numbers say so.
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WHAT YOU WILL RECEIVE
- Salary of £85,000–£95,000 per annum, plus an annual bonus of 10–20%.
- A written, milestone-based pathway to the Finance Director title within 2-3 years.
- Scope for a long-term incentive linked to the growth of the group for the right candidate.
- 33 days' holiday per year, plus an annual loyalty day.
- Free premium gym membership for you plus one.
- Company pension, and substantial investment in your L&D and CPD.
- Casual dress, company events, cycle-to-work scheme, employee discounts and referral programme.
HOW TO APPLY
Please apply with your CV only - no cover letter required. Our process is structured and fast: a short video screening call, then a single in-person stage combining an interview with a practical working session on real (anonymised) business data – the same exercise for every candidate, because we hire on evidence.
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