Appointed representative
This firm does not hold FCA authorisation of its own, and acts under a principal firm, which is legally responsible for its regulated business.
- Appointed for 1 year
- Protected through the principal
- No FCA actions
- Active company since 2025
- Accounts filed up to 31 March 2026
- On its latest accounts it owed £4,323 more than it owned
Responsible principal firm
AFS Compliance Ltd Reference number: 625035 View firm →What does this mean?
- An appointed representative (AR) can carry out regulated financial services, but is not directly authorised by the FCA. A principal firm holds the authorisation and is legally responsible for the AR's conduct.
- ASTUTE COMMERCIAL BROKERS LIMITED (FRN 1040559) is an AR of AFS Compliance Ltd (FRN 625035). When you use ASTUTE COMMERCIAL BROKERS's services, the FCA authorisation sits with the principal firm.
- Example: if you take financial advice from ASTUTE COMMERCIAL BROKERS, complaints and compensation usually follow the same rules as dealing with the principal, but this depends on the product and your circumstances.
- Before you proceed, confirm contact details match the official FCA register for both firms. Scammers sometimes clone legitimate AR names and FRNs but use fake phone numbers and websites.
Website, phone number and address
Compare these against whatever you were given. Scammers clone real firm names and reference numbers but use their own phone number and website, so a detail that does not match the register is the clearest warning sign there is.
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No website on the FCA register
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Phone number
-
Address
261a Acklam Road, Middlesbrough, Middlesbrough, TS5 7BP, United Kingdom
In the full report: 2 background checks
- What kind of line 01642 134100 is, and the other firm that gives it
- Who else gives the postcode TS5 7BP
Other names (1)
If you were contacted under any of these names, it is this firm.
- Synergy Commercial Finance Trading name: A name it trades under now.
FCA permissions and consumer protection
- Protection through the principal firmProtection works through AFS Compliance Ltd, the principal firm responsible for this firm's regulated activity. FSCS cover and the Financial Ombudsman Service apply as they would to the principal.
- Complaints Ombudsman, freeYou can refer a complaint about this firm to the Financial Ombudsman Service for free, whichever activity it relates to.
FCA disciplinary action and complaints
No FCA disciplinary action.
The Financial Ombudsman Service only publishes complaint figures for firms with 30 or more new complaints in six months, so there are none here for this firm.
Companies House record
The company behind the firm: its status, age, registered office and directors.
- Company number
- 16332409 (opens Companies House in a new tab)
- Company status
- Active
- Company type
- Private limited company
- Incorporated
- 21 March 2025 (1 year old)
- Registered office
- 261a Acklam Road, Middlesbrough, TS5 7BP, England
- Nature of business
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- Financial intermediation not elsewhere classified (SIC 64999)
Directors and company secretaries
| Name | Role | Born | Appointed | Other companies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Geoffrey Daniel Bollands | Director | Apr 1982 | 21 Mar 2025 | 10 other companies |
| Christopher James Snowdon | Director | Nov 1984 | 24 Jun 2025 | 1 other company |
Other companies run by these 2 directors
A firm is run by people, and their other companies are their track record: what they built, what closed, and anything that failed. It is the check most people never think to make.
- other companies
- 11
- closed down
- 3
- is FCA-registered
- 1
In the full report: all 11 companies, named
- What each company does, and whether it is still trading
- Which of these 2 directors sit on each board, and since when
- Any that went into liquidation or administration
- The one on the FCA register
Filed accounts and finances
Total equity
−£4,323
No earlier figure to compare
Cash at bank
£4,185
No earlier figure to compare
Owed within a year
£8,508
No earlier figure to compare
Total equity is negative: on its last balance sheet the company owed £4,323 more than it owned.
About these figures
- Turnover
- Money taken from sales in the year, before any costs.
- Profit before tax
- What was left after the year’s costs, before corporation tax. A minus figure is a loss.
- Net assets, or total equity
- Everything the company owns minus everything it owes. A minus figure means it owes more than it owns.
- Total assets and total liabilities
- Everything the company owns, and everything it owes, on the last day of the year. The gap between them is its net assets.
- Cash at bank
- Money in the company’s accounts on the last day of the year.
- Owed within a year, owed after a year
- Debts and bills due in the next twelve months, and those due later.
Accounts filed at Companies House for company 16332409. Figures are exactly as filed; nothing is estimated.
Key dates in its history
Astute Commercial Brokers’s history from the FCA register and Companies House, newest first.
2025
17 September 2025
- Became an appointed representative
FCA register
21 March 2025
- Incorporated at Companies House
- Astute Financial & Mortgage Advisors Ltd took control (75–100% of shares)
Companies House
In the full report: all 7 events
- All 7 events in its history (3 shown here)
- Every director appointment and resignation: 2
Firms connected to Astute Commercial Brokers
Other FCA-listed firms that share a director, phone number or address with Astute Commercial Brokers. A link shows who the firm is tied to, not whether either can be trusted.
- connected firm
- 1
- share a director
- 1
- share its phone number
- 1
In the full report: the connected firm, named
- How it is linked: shared directors (1), the same phone number (1), the same postcode (1)
- Who links it to this firm: the named directors, with dates
Firms like Astute Commercial Brokers
Other firms of the same type (mortgage adviser or broker), nearest first.
In Middlesbrough
Firms are listed by type and location, best known first. Being listed is not a recommendation: check any firm before you deal with it.
Get the full report on Astute Commercial Brokers
Everything on this page, plus everything locked above, in one dated PDF you can keep, file or send on.
- 11 other companies its directors have run, named
- 2 background checks on its contact details
- All 7 events in its history
- 1 connected firm, named, and who links them
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Frequently asked questions about this firm
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Sources and links
- Its entry on the FCA register register.fca.org.uk
- Its Companies House record gov.uk
- Complaints the Financial Ombudsman Service can help with financial-ombudsman.org.uk
- Report a scam to the FCA fca.org.uk