Financial Controller, Levy Merchandising

Compass Group PLC; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 54,000 - 66,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

31 days holiday (bank holidays)

Pension scheme

Health cash plan

Life assurance (4x salary)

Employee assistance programme

Discounts on Levy products

Enhanced family leave & pay

Colleague events

Job summary

Levy Merchandising, the merchandising arm of Levy UK & Ireland and Compass Group PLC, seeks a commercially astute Financial Controller to join the team in Manchester. You will lead the month-end close, budgeting, forecasting and financial reporting, working with senior leaders to drive growth across B2C and B2B channels.

The role requires qualified accounting and strong Excel/financial systems skills, with experience in EU VAT and international trading a plus.

Qualifications

• Qualified accountant with ACCA/CIMA/ICAEW membership.
• Experience in a Financial Controller or senior accounting role.
• Experience in e-commerce, EU VAT and cross-border transactions is advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Own month-end close and management accounts, including journals, reconciliations, accruals and analysis.
• Lead budgeting, forecasting and financial planning with senior leadership.
• Provide commercial financial insight and challenge to drive profitable growth.
• Oversee cash flow forecasting, working capital management and liquidity.
• Manage purchase and sales ledgers, invoicing and credit control.

Skills

Excel proficiency

Financial analysis

Financial modelling

Stakeholder communication

Cash flow management

Internal controls

ERP/Finance systems

Education

ACCA/CIMA/ICAEW qualification

Tools

Excel

Financial systems

Job description

Financial Controller – Levy Merchandising Salary: Up to £60,000, depending on experience, plus benefits Hours per week: 37.5 Location: Manchester city centre – hybrid working between office and home.

We're looking for a commercially astute and proactive Financial Controller to join our growing business. Reporting directly to our Chief Financial & Growth Officer, this is a pivotal role for a finance professional with a strong background in online trading and stock control. Experience of navigating the financial complexities of e-commerce, including EU VAT compliance and cross-border transactions, will be critical to success in this position.

You’ll be responsible for ensuring the integrity of financial reporting, maintaining robust financial controls and leading core accounting processes across the business. Working closely with senior leaders, you will provide meaningful financial insight and challenge, helping the organisation understand performance, identify opportunities and support profitable growth across both B2C and B2B channels.

Alongside ownership of the month-end management accounts process, budgeting, forecasting and statutory reporting, you will play a key role in managing working capital, cash flow and financial compliance. You will bring expertise in EU VAT regulations and international trading requirements, ensuring the business remains compliant while supporting continued growth.

What you’ll do:

• Own the month-end close and management accounts, ensuring timely, accurate and insightful reporting, including journals, reconciliations, accruals, prepayments and financial analysis
• Lead budgeting, forecasting and financial planning, partnering with senior leadership and operational teams to understand business drivers, challenge assumptions and identify risks and opportunities
• Provide clear, commercially focused financial insight, analysing performance against budget, forecast and prior periods and turning findings into practical recommendations
• Support on cash flow forecasting, working capital and cash conversion, providing clear visibility of the company’s financial position
• Oversee purchase ledger, sales ledger, invoicing, credit control and supplier reconciliations, ensuring accurate records, strong controls and effective working capital management
• Lead financial reporting and continuously improve the financial control environment, strengthening processes, systems and controls as the business grows
• Oversee VAT, sales tax, audit and other statutory requirements, working with external advisers to ensure accurate and timely compliance, including EU VAT
• Own inventory costing and related controls, ensuring accurate stock, shipping and invoice postings and improving inventory visibility and profitability
• Act as a key finance business partner across commercial and operational teams, providing constructive challenge and helping stakeholders understand the financial impact of their decisions
• Support the evaluation of new opportunities, investments and projects through financial modelling, analysis and commercial insight
• Identify opportunities to improve profitability, efficiency and scalability through better processes, systems, reporting and use of data
• Contribute to the development of the wider finance function, establishing scalable processes and best practice as the business grows
• Lead and support ad-hoc strategic and commercial projects, providing financial expertise where required
• Lead, coach and develop direct reports to achieve individual and team objectives

Who you are:

• Qualified accountant (ACCA, CIMA or ICAEW) with previous experience in a Financial Controller or senior financial accounting role
• Experienced in a smaller or growing finance team, with the ability and willingness to take ownership across a broad range of finance activities
• Experience in an e-commerce business with an international customer base would be advantageous
• Strong knowledge of EU VAT regulations and experience with sales tax compliance
• Commercially minded, with the ability to understand business drivers, challenge constructively and turn financial information into actionable insight
• Strong technical accounting, financial analysis and modelling skills, with the ability to communicate clearly with non-finance stakeholders
• Highly proficient in Excel and financial systems, with an interest in using technology, automation and data to improve efficiency and financial visibility
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the confidence to work effectively across all levels of the organisation
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, evolving environment and able to adapt as the business grows
• Hands-on and detail-oriented when required, while maintaining a broader commercial and strategic perspective
• Strong ownership mentality, with the drive to solve problems, improve how things work and make a tangible contribution to the business
• A passion for sport and an interest in the sportswear industry would be advantageous

Levy Merchandising is the merchandising arm of Levy UK & Ireland. Levy UK & Ireland are a market leader in the world of sports and entertainment experiences, boasting some of the biggest and best stadiums and leisure locations in Europe as its venue partners. Levy is part of FTSE 100 company and global leader in food services, Compass Group PLC.

At Levy Merchandising, we design and manufacture a wide range of product direct from source. From technical products, fit for the highest level of performance, through to non-technical fanwear, we produce apparel at all levels of the product pyramid. We also source a comprehensive range of non-clothing products to complete the full range of categories available across the sales channels.

We’re proud to do things differently. We have an innovative commercial model which puts our partners first and makes decision making a joint responsibility. Building long lasting, sustainable relationships is central to our ethos and we want our partners to retain independence and control on key strategic direction whilst being able to leverage the benefit, scale, and expertise of our central teams across Buying, Licensing, E-Commerce, and Retail Operations.

We’re also committed to supporting the local communities where our factories are based. We work with charities and local outreach programmes to have a positive impact in the cities and towns where we do business.

SUDU is our UK sportswear brand headquartered in Manchester. With aspirations to be a leading brand that not only equips individuals with the tools they need to excel in physical pursuits but also to empower mindsets with every motion, we offer a range of apparel and footwear products across 4 categories - Run, Play, Train and Rest.

You’ll also get a package that includes:

• competitive salary that recognises your skills and experience
• 31 days holiday including bank holidays (rising with service)
• contributory employer pension scheme
• colleague health cash plan to keep you feeling your best
• life assurance cover of 4 x annual salary
• employee assistance programme – 24/7 confidential access to expert services including virtual GP, counselling, wellbeing support, and independent legal and financial advice
• access to high street cashback and discounts
• discounts on SUDU and other Levy Merchandising products and services
• enhanced family leave and pay
• welcoming company culture and opportunities to develop as our business grows
• twice-yearly colleague events, payday socials and loads of exciting activities in between

Building an inclusive work environment

We’re actively building diverse teams and we welcome applications from everyone.

We take pride in fostering a workplace culture that celebrates diversity and promotes inclusion. We believe that our differences are our greatest strength, and we’re committed to creating an environment where every individual is valued, respected, and empowered.

If we invite you to take part in the recruitment process for any of our jobs, we’ll ask you if you need any reasonable adjustments to enable you to participate.

If you have questions or need support with your application, you can contact us at [e-mail].