Financial Controller

PENICUIK ESTATE PARTNERSHIP

Financial Controller

Be the financial heartbeat of a remarkable Scottish estate: own the numbers, shape the decisions, and build a finance function that helps Penicuik grow with confidence.A senior finance role at Penicuik Estate, owning the estate's financial reporting and controls and helping the business plan and grow.

About Penicuik Estate

Penicuik Estate is a 7,000-acre estate in Midlothian, cared for by the same family since 1654 and home to one of Scotland’s most original designed landscapes. Farming, forestry, renewable energy, conservation and hospitality sit side by side, guided by a fifty-year vision to build a regenerative business that stewards the estate’s heritage and landscape for generations to come. The recent move into luxury hospitality, welcoming guests to Penicuik House, its cottages and houses, and its event spaces, is the newest chapter in that story, with the ambition to become one of Scotland’s most remarkable estate destinations, a place guests travel the world to experience.

Role purpose

Penicuik Estate is at an exciting moment. The hospitality business is growing fast, the estate is investing in its future, and the leadership team needs sharp, reliable financial insight to make good decisions. Until now, the finance function has been split between an external Finance Director and Johnston Carmichael. The business is ready to bring that capability fully in-house — and this is the role that makes it happen.The finance function has been supported by a Finance Director, who is moving to a part-time Strategic Financial Adviser role, and by the estate's external accountants. The business is now building an in-house finance team led by this role.

The Financial Controller will report directly to the CEO and own everything: management accounts, VAT, forecasting, analysis, the tech stack, and the transition from Johnston Carmichael. This is not a back-office role. It sits at the centre of the business — close to the decisions that matter, with real scope to shape how the estate manages and understands its finances as it grows. The right person will find it genuinely varied and genuinely interesting: one day reviewing cottage pricing with the CEO, the next closing the month-end across six revenue streams, the next onboarding a new supplier or refining the Fathom model.The Financial Controller is the senior finance role in the business, reporting to the Owner / Managing Director. A Strategic Financial Adviser (SFA) supports the Owner / Managing Director on financial strategy and the capital programme; this role owns the production and control of all the estate's financial information: management accounts, VAT, forecasting, analysis, the finance systems, and the move to a fully in-house function.

Hospitality is the fastest-growing part of the business and the most financially complex. The right person will understand how hospitality accounting works — guest ledgers, booking-driven revenue, event cost structures, PMS reconciliation — and will bring a hospitality mindset to the role: an instinct for the metrics that matter, a feel for the rhythm of the business, and a genuine interest in how the guest experience and the financial performance connect.Hospitality is the largest and most financially complex part of the business. The right person will understand hospitality accounting, guest ledgers, booking-driven revenue, event cost structures and PMS reconciliation, and how the operational and financial sides connect.

Key responsibilities

Management accounts and month-end close

• Own the month-end close from start to finish: accruals, prepayments, revenue recognition across all six business units, and full balance sheet reconciliations — accurate, on time, every month.Own the month-end close from start to finish: accruals, prepayments, revenue recognition across all six business units, and full balance sheet reconciliations, accurate, on time, every month.
• Review and correct P&L coding before accounts go anywhere near the CEO, catching errors and making sure the numbers tell the right story.Review and correct P&L coding so the accounts are right first time and the numbers tell the right story.
• Produce clear departmental reporting across the estate's income streams, hospitality, farm, forestry, renewable energy and property, so each part of the business can see how it is performing.
• Keep the fixed asset register and lease/HP schedules current and correctly posted.
• Prepare a management accounts pack the CEO will actually want to read: clear, well-presented, with material variances called out and explained.Prepare a clear, well-presented management accounts pack for the Owner / Managing Director, with material variances identified and explained.

VAT and tax compliance

• Prepare and submit quarterly VAT returns, ensuring the right treatment across a genuinely diverse income base — hospitality, farm, forestry, minerals, biomass — and keeping mixed-supply rules in hand.Prepare and submit quarterly VAT returns across a genuinely diverse income base, hospitality, farm, forestry, minerals and biomass, handling mixed-supply and partial-exemption calculations where not all activities carry full VAT recovery.
• Support Johnston Carmichael on statutory accounts and corporation tax, providing the context and workings that make their job straightforward.Support the estate's external accountants on statutory accounts and corporation tax, providing the context and workings that make their job straightforward.
• Account accurately for grant income and renewable energy revenues, keeping the treatment clean and the reporting clear.
• Keep an eye on tax legislation changes that affect the estate and flag anything that needs action.

FP&A and decision support

• Own the Fathom forecasting model: keep it current, roll it forward monthly, and make sure it reflects the commercial reality of the business.
• Prepare monthly performance packs and ad-hoc analysis for the CEO — the kind that translates numbers into insight and helps decisions get made.Prepare monthly performance packs and ad-hoc analysis for the Owner / Managing Director, translating numbers into insight that helps decisions get made.
• Support pricing decisions across hospitality and the cottage portfolio, modelling scenarios and giving the CEO the financial grounding to act with confidence.Support pricing decisions across hospitality and the cottage portfolio, modelling scenarios and giving the Owner / Managing Director the financial grounding to act with confidence.
• Monitor cottage KPIs — occupancy, ADR, RevPAR — and keep the reporting sharp.Monitor cottage KPIs, occupancy, ADR, RevPAR, and keep the reporting sharp.
• Lead annual budget preparation, working with the CEO and business unit heads to build a plan that is realistic, well-evidenced and owned by the people delivering it.Lead annual budgeting with the Owner / Managing Director and heads of department, and support them through the year on their financial performance, budgets and cost control, building plans that are realistic and owned by the people delivering them.
• Provide financial reporting and cost tracking for the estate's capital projects, from appraisal through to delivery, so investment decisions are well-grounded and spend stays on track.
• Watch the cash position and working capital closely, flagging anything coming down the track before it becomes a problem.

Accounts payable and receivable oversight

• Oversee AP and AR as these functions migrate in-house from Johnston Carmichael, building the processes cleanly from the ground up.Oversee AP and AR as these functions come in-house from the external accountants, building the processes cleanly from the ground up, with day-to-day processing handled by the Finance & HR Assistant.
• Review and approve bills in ApprovalMax, making sure coding is right and spend is properly authorised.
• Embed a culture of financial rigour across the estate: run a clear purchase-order process, make sure spend is authorised and on budget, and give heads of department the numbers and support they need to manage their costs well.
• Keep the estate’s financial controls — spend limits, card controls, approval workflows — up to date and fit for purpose as the business grows.Keep the estate’s financial controls, spend limits, card controls, approval workflows, up to date and fit for purpose as the business grows.
• Run payment runs when needed and maintain the estate’s banking relationships.

Finance technology and systems

• Own the finance tech stack — Xero, ApprovalMax, Dext, Pleo, Weatherbys, PriceLabs and MEWS BI — and keep it working well.Own the finance tech stack, Xero, ApprovalMax, Dext, Pleo, PriceLabs, the estate's banking platform and MEWS BI, and keep it working well.
• Manage the Weatherbys daily bank upload (manual feed, no auto-integration) and keep Xero clean and reconciled.Keep bank feeds and reconciliations accurate and Xero clean and up to date.
• Lead new technology rollouts when they come, embedding them properly so they actually get used.
• Keep the MEWS BI dashboard current and useful, working with the Hospitality Operations Manager on what it surfaces.
• Maintain the energy matrix and post heat recharges accurately each month.Keep energy recharges accurate and posted each month.

Building the function

• This is a founding role for the in-house finance team. The right person will enjoy building it: documenting processes, establishing ways of working, and creating a function that is organised, resilient and genuinely useful to the business.
• Lead the transition from Johnston Carmichael — manage the knowledge transfer thoroughly and make sure nothing is lost in the handover.Lead the transition of work coming in-house from the external accountants, managing the knowledge transfer thoroughly so nothing is lost in the handover.
• Be the first point of call for finance questions across the estate, handling escalations calmly and keeping things moving.

How success is measured

• The month-end close lands accurately and on time, every month, without drama.
• VAT returns submitted correctly and on time, with the CEO confident the estate’s compliance is in good hands.VAT returns submitted correctly and on time, with the Owner / Managing Director confident the estate's compliance is in good hands.
• The CEO has a Fathom model and monthly pack that gives them a genuine picture of the business — not just numbers, but insight.The Owner / Managing Director has a Fathom model and monthly pack that give a clear and accurate picture of the business.
• Pricing and commercial decisions are better-informed because of the analysis this role provides.
• The transition from Johnston Carmichael is managed smoothly, with no gaps in reporting or compliance.
• The finance function is well-documented and well-organised — something the business can rely on and build on.The finance function is well-documented and well-organised, something the business can rely on and build on.
• The finance technology stack works well and is used properly across the team.

Penicuik Estate is warm, welcoming and grounded, and the right person brings that same quality to the finance function. They understand hospitality — not just as an industry category but as a mindset: they know that a guest ledger needs to reconcile before checkout, that event-week cash flow looks different from a quiet January, and that the people running the house need financial information that helps them, not just satisfies an audit. They are curious about the business, enjoy being close to the decisions that matter, and communicate clearly with colleagues who are not finance professionals. They take genuine pride in a clean set of accounts and a model that actually reflects reality. They will be building something here — and they will take real satisfaction in that.Person specification

Penicuik Estate is warm, welcoming and down to earth, and the right person brings that same quality to the finance function. They understand hospitality in practice: that a guest ledger needs to reconcile before checkout, that event-week cash flow looks different from a quiet January, and that the people running the house need financial information that helps them, not just something that satisfies an audit. They are curious about the business, enjoy being close to the work, and communicate clearly with colleagues who are not finance professionals. They take genuine pride in a clean set of accounts and a model that reflects reality, and they will take real satisfaction in building something here.

Essential

• A qualified or part-qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA or AAT fully qualified), with a minimum of three years’ experience in a finance role covering management accounts, VAT and financial reporting.A qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA or ICAS), or qualified by experience with a strong track record at this level, covering management accounts, VAT and financial reporting.
• Experience in a hospitality, hotel, venue or events business — this is genuinely important. The right person understands how hospitality accounting works: booking-driven revenue, guest ledger reconciliation, event-based cost structures, and the financial rhythm of a business where occupancy, ADR and RevPAR are the metrics that matter.Experience in a hospitality, hotel, venue or events business, this is genuinely important. The right person understands how hospitality accounting works: booking-driven revenue, guest ledger reconciliation, event-based cost structures, and the financial rhythm of a business where occupancy, ADR and RevPAR are the metrics that matter.
• Comfortable working with a Property Management System (PMS) and understanding how it feeds into the financial picture. Experience with MEWS or a comparable platform is a strong advantage.An understanding of how a hospitality Property Management System feeds the financial picture, and comfort working with finance systems generally.
• Proven experience preparing monthly management accounts and balance sheet reconciliations to a high standard, with the confidence to own the month-end close independently.
• Strong working knowledge of VAT, including mixed-supply and partial-exemption rules, and the ability to prepare and submit returns accurately.
• Commercially literate and comfortable with FP&A: building and maintaining forecasts, monitoring performance against budget, and providing clear financial analysis that supports business decisions.Strong cash flow forecasting and management, building and maintaining rolling cash and P&L forecasts and giving the business clear sight of its cash position, essential given the estate's investment programme.
• Commercially minded and focused on business growth: comfortable with FP&A, budgeting and scenario modelling, and turning financial analysis into recommendations that help the business grow profitably.
• Confident user of Xero or an equivalent accounting platform, with the aptitude to own and develop the estate’s wider finance technology stack.
• A natural communicator who translates financial information into plain language for a non-finance audience, and who builds effective working relationships across a small, close team.
• Organised and self-sufficient, comfortable being the most senior day-to-day finance person.
• Happy to work on-site at Penicuik Estate, Midlothian.

Desirable

• Experience in a luxury, exclusive-use or country house hospitality setting — and an appreciation of what makes that kind of operation different.Experience with a hospitality Property Management System, or in the hospitality industry more broadly, with MEWS experience a particular bonus. We recognise this is an unusual role and do not expect every system or sector to be a perfect match.
• Hands-on experience with MEWS, Fathom, Dext, ApprovalMax or PriceLabs.Familiarity with common finance systems such as Xero, ApprovalMax or Fathom, and strong financial modelling skills.
• An interest in using technology and AI to streamline finance processes and reduce cost across the business.
• Experience in a rural estate or mixed-use property business, with farm, forestry or energy income lines.
• Understanding of LLP accounting and the distinction between partner drawings and employee remuneration.Familiarity with capital allowances and the financial treatment of a significant capital investment programme.
• Experience overseeing payroll, including a casual or variable-hours workforce.
• Experience supporting a transition from outsourced to in-house finance, including knowledge transfer and process documentation.