I've worked with Ben Carter for a good while now, and he's one of those candidates I'd genuinely put my name to without hesitation. He's spent eight years building his career in hospitality finance, the last stretch of which has been as Financial Controller at Restaurant Associates, the Compass-owned contract catering business. That's a demanding environment, and Ben has thrived in it, taking full ownership of P&L across a portfolio of corporate and events venues. What stands out to me is that he hasn't just been a numbers processor — he's been a proper commercial partner to the operations teams he's worked alongside.

Ben told me when we last spoke that the variety of the contract catering model is what's kept him engaged for so long, managing the financial rhythm of both day-to-day corporate catering and the more pressured, high-volume world of events. That breadth gives him a genuinely rounded skill set. He understands how margins behave differently across venue types, how to hold a forecast under pressure, and how to have honest conversations with operational managers when the numbers aren't going the right way. At mid-senior level, that commercial confidence is exactly what you want in a finance lead.

In practical terms, Ben is London-based with four weeks' notice, which is straightforward to plan around. He's not someone who is scattered across multiple conversations at the moment, so if the role is the right fit, I'm confident he'll move decisively. Given his background in contract catering within a large group structure, I think he would settle quickly into a hotel finance role where there's a similar blend of operational complexity and reporting rigour. I'd encourage you to meet him.