Guardian Financial Services Limited: FCA regulated?

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 8 years
Protected through the principal
No FCA actions
Active company since 2017

Responsible principal firm

Scottish Friendly Assurance Society Limited Reference number: 110002 Authorised 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.
Guardian Financial Services Limited (FRN 798072) is an AR of Scottish Friendly Assurance Society Limited (FRN 110002). When you use Guardian Financial Services's services, the FCA authorisation sits with the principal firm.
Example: if you take financial advice from Guardian Financial Services, 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.

Website

guardian1821.co.uk (opens in a new tab)
Phone number

0808 123 1821
Address

11 Strand, London, WC2N 5HR, United Kingdom

In the full report: 3 background checks

When guardian1821.co.uk first appeared online, and whether it can receive email
What kind of line 0808 123 1821 is
Who else gives the postcode WC2N 5HR

Other names (4)

If you were contacted under any of these names, it is this firm.

Guardian Trading name: A name it trades under now.
Guardian1821 Trading name: A name it trades under now.
Gryphon Distribution Limited Former name: A name it was registered under before.
Gryphon Financial Services Former trading name: A name it used to trade under.

FCA permissions and consumer protection

Protection through the principal firm
Protection works through Scottish Friendly Assurance Society 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, free
You 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: 11115769 (opens Companies House in a new tab)
Company status: Active
Company type: Private limited company
Incorporated: 18 December 2017 (8 years old)
Registered office: 11 Strand, London, WC2N 5HR, United Kingdom
Nature of business: Financial intermediation not elsewhere classified (SIC 64999)

Directors and company secretaries

Name	Role	Born	Appointed	Other companies
Jonathan Dominic Punter	Director	May 1957	18 Dec 2017	50 other companies
Peter Mann	Director	Feb 1958	24 Jan 2018	12 other companies
Kenneth John Mckelvey	Director	Nov 1956	11 Jan 2023	54 other companies
Carlton James Hood	Director	Mar 1971	1 May 2025	1 other company

Other companies run by these 4 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: 77
closed down: 29
went insolvent: 4

In the full report: all 77 companies, named

What each company does, and whether it is still trading
Which of these 4 directors sit on each board, and since when
The 4 that went into liquidation or administration
The 10 on the FCA register, including one no longer authorised
The 38 companies these 4 directors run together
All 6 people who have ever been directors, with their dates

Key dates in its history

Guardian Financial Services’s history from the FCA register and Companies House, newest first.

Key events (6) All events (19)

2018

6 February 2018

Changed its registered name from "Gryphon Distribution Limited"

FCA register

8 January 2018

Became an appointed representative

FCA register

2017

18 December 2017

Incorporated at Companies House
Ggh (Jersey) Limited took control (75–100% of shares)
Punter Southall Group Limited became the majority owner (50–75% of shares)
Punter Southall Group Limited stopped being the majority owner

Companies House

In the full report: all 19 events

All 19 events in its history (6 shown here)
Every director appointment and resignation: 8

Firms connected to Guardian Financial Services

Other FCA-listed firms that share a director, phone number or address with Guardian Financial Services. A link shows who the firm is tied to, not whether either can be trusted.

connected firms: 5
share a director: 5
share its postcode: 1

In the full report: all 5 connected firms, named

How each is linked: shared directors (5), the same postcode (1)
Who links each one: the named directors, with dates
5 past links through former directors

Firms like Guardian Financial Services

Other firms of the same type (credit broker), nearest first.

In London

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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 Guardian Financial Services

Everything on this page, plus everything locked above, in one dated PDF you can keep, file or send on.

77 other companies its directors have run, named
3 background checks on its contact details
All 19 events in its history
5 connected firms, named, and who links them

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Frequently asked questions about this firm

Is Guardian Financial Services Limited FCA authorised?

Guardian Financial Services Limited (FRN 798072) is not directly authorised. It is an appointed representative acting under the responsibility of a directly authorised principal firm.

What does appointed representative mean for Guardian Financial Services?

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. Guardian Financial Services Limited (FRN 798072) is an AR of Scottish Friendly Assurance Society Limited (FRN 110002). When you use Guardian Financial Services's services, the FCA authorisation sits with the principal firm. Example: if you take financial advice from Guardian Financial Services, 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.

What is Guardian Financial Services’ phone number and website?

The FCA register lists the phone number 0808 123 1821 and the website guardian1821.co.uk for Guardian Financial Services. If you were given different contact details, use these to check with the firm before going any further.

Is Guardian Financial Services a scam or clone?

Guardian Financial Services is a genuine FCA-listed firm, and the FCA has published no warnings about fake versions of it. Scammers do copy real firms, though, so check that any contact details you were given match the ones on the register.

Is my money safe with Guardian Financial Services?

Protection works through Scottish Friendly Assurance Society Limited, the principal firm responsible for Guardian Financial Services's regulated activity. FSCS cover and the Financial Ombudsman Service apply as they would to the principal.

Who owns Guardian Financial Services?

Guardian Financial Services is owned by Ggh (Jersey) Limited, which holds 75–100% of shares, 75–100% of votes and can appoint and remove the board, since 18 December 2017. Before that, it was controlled by Punter Southall Group Limited.

Who runs Guardian Financial Services?

Companies House lists 4 directors of Guardian Financial Services: Jonathan Dominic Punter, Peter Mann, Kenneth John McKelvey and Carlton James Hood.

How long has Guardian Financial Services been in business?

The company was formed on 18 December 2017.

Does Guardian Financial Services use any other names?

It trades as Guardian and Guardian1821. It has previously used 2 other names: Gryphon Distribution Limited and Gryphon Financial Services.