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 29 years
- Protected through the principal
- No FCA actions
- Active company since 2003
- Accounts filed up to 30 September 2025
Responsible principal firm
Sesame Limited Reference number: 150427 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.
- Beard & Coles Financial Practice Ltd (FRN 182412) is an AR of Sesame Limited (FRN 150427). When you use Beard & Coles Financial Practice's services, the FCA authorisation sits with the principal firm.
- Example: if you take financial advice from Beard & Coles Financial Practice, 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
1 Mercury House, Calleva Park, Aldermaston, RG7 8PN, United Kingdom
In the full report: 2 background checks
- What kind of line 0118 981 3464 is, and the other firm that gives it
- Who else gives the postcode RG7 8PN
Other names (4)
If you were contacted under any of these names, it is this firm.
- Beard & Coles Financial Practice Former name: A name it was registered under before.
- Alexanders Financial Services Former trading name: A name it used to trade under.
- Kronnberg Financial Services Former trading name: A name it used to trade under.
- Wessex Financial Services Former trading name: A name it used to trade under.
FCA permissions and consumer protection
- Protection through the principal firmProtection works through Sesame Limited, 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 name
- BEARD & COLES FINANCIAL PRACTICE LIMITED
- Company number
- 04967692 (opens Companies House in a new tab)
- Company status
- Active
- Company type
- Private limited company
- Incorporated
- 18 November 2003 (22 years old)
- Registered office
- Office 5, The Forest Rock Offices Leicester Road, Whitwick, Coalville, Leicestershire, LE67 5GQ, England
- Nature of business
-
- Financial intermediation not elsewhere classified (SIC 64999)
Directors and company secretaries
| Name | Role | Born | Appointed | Other companies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christopher John Downham | Director | Mar 1968 | 8 Mar 2005 | 3 other companies |
| Matthew Charles Beard | Director | Oct 1966 | 8 Mar 2005 | 4 other companies |
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
- 4
- closed down
- 2
- is FCA-registered
- 1
In the full report: all 4 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
- The 3 companies these 2 directors run together
- All 5 people who have ever been directors, with their dates
Filed accounts and finances
Net assets
£144k
+32% from £110k
Cash at bank
£168k
+9.7% from £153k
Employees (average)
2
Same as 2
Assets and liabilities
In the full report: all 7 years of accounts
- Every year from 2019 to 2025
- The chart, over every year
- Every filed figure, year by year
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.
There is no turnover or profit: small companies do not have to publish them.
Accounts filed at Companies House for company 04967692. Every figure is as filed, apart from total assets and total liabilities, which are added up from filed figures. Nothing is estimated.
Key dates in its history
Beard & Coles Financial Practice’s history from the FCA register and Companies House, newest first.
2020
2 September 2020
- Gmdb Limited took control (75–100% of shares)
- Matthew Charles Beard stopped being a part-owner
Companies House
2016
18 November 2016
- Matthew Charles Beard became a part-owner (25–50% of shares)
Companies House
2005
1 November 2005
- Changed its registered name from "Beard & Coles Financial Practice"
FCA register
2003
18 November 2003
- Incorporated at Companies House
Companies House
1997
1 January 1997
- Became an appointed representative
FCA register
In the full report: all 18 events
- All 18 events in its history (6 shown here)
- Every director appointment and resignation: 6
Firms connected to Beard & Coles Financial Practice
Other FCA-listed firms that share a director, phone number or address with Beard & Coles Financial Practice. 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 Beard & Coles Financial Practice
Other firms of the same type (mortgage adviser or broker), nearest first.
In Aldermaston
In the Reading (RG) postcode area
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 Beard & Coles Financial Practice
Everything on this page, plus everything locked above, in one dated PDF you can keep, file or send on.
- 4 other companies its directors have run, named
- 2 background checks on its contact details
- 7 years of accounts, charted
- All 18 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