Property Accountant

We are looking for a Property Accountant to join Team OB in our Support Office.

As a Property Accountant at OB you will be a key part of the commercial finance team providing support to the business through accurate accounting and proactive investigation of variances to expectations.

Reporting to the Finance Manager - Retail and Property you will interpret information provided in our property leases in order to ensure both that the accounting is correct and that we are being invoiced by our landlords as per the detail of the lease. You will also manage the business rates process for the business to ensure we being billed and accounting for this correctly.

A key part of your role will be to identify costs which are out of line with expectations and investigate these differences proactively. You will be able to work independently and take direction well.

Our Support Office is based in Tolworth, near Chessington, only a 30-minute journey from London Waterloo. We offer hybrid working with a split of 3 days in the office and 2 days home working per week, and are open to having conversations about working flexibly.

A bit about us …

At Oliver Bonas (OB), our values of Work Hard, Play Hard & Be Kind are integral to everything we do. Collaboration, imagination, curiosity, and teamwork are key to our success, and everyone has their part to play in making OB a special place to work.

Having fun is key, and a playful and positive approach creates an optimistic environment. We don’t take ourselves too seriously, but we are serious about what we do.

Our team knows their stuff. They’re confident and creative and unafraid to challenge convention to find solutions, taking accountability for their actions, but always with kindness and humility.

More about the role …

An OB Property Accountant will:

• Update and maintain a Rent Reconciliation master file which holds lease information for our property portfolio of circa 95 stores and 3 warehouses
• Month end accounting for rent by store based on interpretation of individual leases as well as a full deep dive reconciliation twice yearly
• Regular review of landlord supplier billing to ensure they are charging rent, insurance and service charges as per the lease. Liasing with Landlords and Managing Agents to dispute anything incorrect
• Responsibility for signing off invoices for rent, service charge, insurance invoices and business rates bills once they have been fully checked
• Monthly review of the rent payment process in NetSuite to ensure rent, service charge and insurance invoices are being paid according to their due dates
• Producing monthly and annual turnover certificates for landlords for our stores on turnover leases
• Responsibility for the forecast and budget process for the rent, business rates, service charge and insurance costs across the business
• Leading a project to adopt the changes to lease accounting element of FRS 102 which will came in line with IFRS 16 from January 2026. This will involve understanding the changes to the standard and interpreting what this means for Oliver Bonas’ leases and accounting with the support of the Finance Manager and Head of FP&A
• Responsibility for saving down and reading through new leases once they are signed and updating key details in a Master Property file as well as Rent Reconciliation file
• Responsibility for business rates ensuring we are being billed correctly by the councils and are accounting for these charges correctly each month on the P&L and Balance Sheet. This also includes completing a full year end reconciliation and monthly reconciliation of council supplier accounts
• Work alongside external property surveyor to achieve best rates valuation possible for the business. Ensure any savings are properly recorded and that any updated billing has been obtained from the council
• Producing key reports and adhoc analysis for the Property team
• Support the Finance Analyst in the team who produces retail reporting for the business. Cover key tasks when this team member is on annual leave
• Support the COO with any Property related tasks as they arise
• Perform ad hoc duties as requested such as projects requested by Finance Director or Head of FP&A

Bonas Benefits:

• Generous employee discount up to 50% off all OB products
• Free access to our 24 hour employee assistance programme with Care First – offering financial, emotional and vocational support
• Flexible holiday – 30 days (including bank holidays) – increasing to 35 days with length of service
• Annual discretionary profit related bonus scheme
• Free membership for our Westfield Health Cash Plan or Private Medical
• Auto-enrolment into our pension plan
• Free access to our onsite gym
• Cycle to work scheme
• Refer a Friend incentive
• Quarterly free lunch
• Enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave
• Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity Voice network and EDI team
• Mental Health First Aider support
• Education and support through 360L eLearning platform

What we look for:

• Qualified accountant (ACA, CIMA, ACCA) or qualified by experience
• Strong finance background and experience working in a multifaceted Finance team
• Experience of property accounting and knowledge of IFRS16 requested but not essential
• Advanced user of Microsoft Excel (pivot tables, vlookups, etc.) and competent user of other Microsoft programmes
• Competent user of accounting systems
• Self-motivated and able to work well to tight deadlines
• Interest in and understanding of the retail industry
• Very high attention to detail
• Excellent analytical and numerical skills
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Highly organised, with the ability to work well with minimal supervision

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion at OB

At Oliver Bonas, our promise is to do our bit to make living a joyful experience and give cause for optimism. This promise is central to our work in equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI). To bring joy to others, we must first ensure everyone at OB feels valued, included and most importantly, can be themselves at work.

It is important to us that our brand reflects wider society and the communities in which we operate. As a result, we welcome all eligible applicants for this role however we are particularly interested in speaking to eligible candidates from the Black, Asian & Mixed Heritage communities.

Oliver Bonas is a Disability Confident Committed employer under the Disability Confident employer scheme.

To read more about our ED&I commitments, head over to the EDI page on our website: https://www.oliverbonas.com/meet-the-team/diversity