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 7 years
- Protected through the principal
- No FCA actions
- Active company since 2024
- Accounts filed up to 31 March 2026
Responsible principal firm
STONEBRIDGE MORTGAGE SOLUTIONS LIMITED Reference number: 454811 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.
- DS Financial Group Ltd (FRN 835094) is an AR of STONEBRIDGE MORTGAGE SOLUTIONS LIMITED (FRN 454811). When you use DS Financial Group's services, the FCA authorisation sits with the principal firm.
- Example: if you take financial advice from DS Financial Group, 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
49 Station Road, Polegate, East Sussex, BN26 6EA, United Kingdom
In the full report: 2 background checks
- What kind of line 0330 223 3310 is
- Who else gives the postcode BN26 6EA
Other names (4)
If you were contacted under any of these names, it is this firm.
- DS Financial Trading name: A name it trades under now.
- Darren Edward Shepherd Former name: A name it was registered under before.
- Darren Shepherd Former name: A name it was registered under before.
- DS Mortgages Former trading name: A name it used to trade under.
FCA permissions and consumer protection
- Protection through the principal firmProtection works through Stonebridge Mortgage Solutions 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 number
- 16149960 (opens Companies House in a new tab)
- Company status
- Active
- Company type
- Private limited company
- Incorporated
- 23 December 2024 (1 year old)
- Registered office
- I Support Business, 49, Station Road, Polegate, East Sussex, BN26 6EA, United Kingdom
- Nature of business
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- Financial intermediation not elsewhere classified (SIC 64999)
- Activities auxiliary to financial intermediation not elsewhere classified (SIC 66190)
- Activities of insurance agents and brokers (SIC 66220)
Directors and company secretaries
| Name | Role | Born | Appointed | Other companies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deborah Shepherd | Director | Dec 1969 | 23 Dec 2024 | None |
| Deborah Shepherd | Secretary | Not published | 23 Dec 2024 | – |
In the full report: every company its directors have run
- Confirmation that its director runs no other company
Filed accounts and finances
Total equity
£6,949
No earlier figure to compare
Employees (average)
0
No earlier figure to compare
Owed within a year
£18.8k
No earlier figure to compare
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 16149960. 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
DS Financial Group’s history from the FCA register and Companies House, newest first.
2025
15 May 2025
- Changed its registered name from "Darren Shepherd"
FCA register
2024
23 December 2024
- Incorporated at Companies House
- Deborah Shepherd took control (75–100% of shares)
Companies House
2023
14 August 2023
- Changed its registered name from "Darren Edward Shepherd"
FCA register
2019
4 March 2019
- Became an appointed representative
FCA register
In the full report: all 9 events
- All 9 events in its history (5 shown here)
- Every director appointment and resignation: 1
Firms connected to DS Financial Group
Other FCA-listed firms that share a director, phone number or address with DS Financial Group. A link shows who the firm is tied to, not whether either can be trusted.
- connected firms
- 3
- no longer authorised
- 1
- share its postcode
- 3
In the full report: all 3 connected firms, named
- How each is linked: the same postcode (3)
- Who links each one: the named directors, with dates
Firms like DS Financial Group
Other firms of the same type (insurance broker), nearest first.
In Polegate
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 DS Financial Group
Everything on this page, plus everything locked above, in one dated PDF you can keep, file or send on.
- Every company its directors have run, named
- 2 background checks on its contact details
- All 9 events in its history
- 3 connected firms, named, and who links them
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Frequently asked questions about this firm
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Does DS Financial Group use any other names?
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