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 11 years
- Protected through the principal
- No FCA actions
- Active company since 2018
- Accounts filed up to 30 September 2025
- On its latest accounts it owed £4,120 more than it owned
Responsible principal firm
DIRECT IFA'S LIMITED Reference number: 228706 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.
- Independent Mortgage Experts Ltd (FRN 684425) is an AR of DIRECT IFA'S LIMITED (FRN 228706). When you use Independent Mortgage Experts's services, the FCA authorisation sits with the principal firm.
- Example: if you take financial advice from Independent Mortgage Experts, 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
861 Chesterfield Road, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S8 0SQ, United Kingdom
In the full report: 2 background checks
- What kind of line 07504 071685 is
- Who else gives the postcode S8 0SQ
Other names (1)
If you were contacted under any of these names, it is this firm.
- Esther Barnes Former name: A name it was registered under before.
FCA permissions and consumer protection
- Protection through the principal firmProtection works through Direct Ifa's 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
- INDEPENDENT MORTGAGE EXPERTS LIMITED
- Company number
- 11557871 (opens Companies House in a new tab)
- Company status
- Active
- Company type
- Private limited company
- Incorporated
- 7 September 2018 (8 years old)
- Registered office
- Queen Street Chambers, 68 Queen Street, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S1 1WR, England
- Nature of business
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- Activities of mortgage finance companies (SIC 64922)
- Real estate agencies (SIC 68310)
- Management of real estate on a fee or contract basis (SIC 68320)
Directors and company secretaries
| Name | Role | Born | Appointed | Other companies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Esther Margaret Barnes | Director | Jul 1980 | 7 Sep 2018 | None |
| Esther Margaret Barnes | Secretary | Not published | 7 Sep 2018 | – |
In the full report: every company its directors have run
- Confirmation that its director runs no other company
Filed accounts and finances
Net assets
−£4,120
−475% from £1,098
Cash at bank
£962
−84% from £5,902
Employees (average)
1
Same as 1
Owed within a year
£10.3k
−11% from £11.6k
Net assets are negative: on its last balance sheet the company owed £4,120 more than it owned.
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 11557871. 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
Independent Mortgage Experts’s history from the FCA register and Companies House, newest first.
2019
13 May 2019
- Changed its registered name from "Esther Barnes"
FCA register
2018
7 September 2018
- Incorporated at Companies House
- Esther Margaret Barnes took control (75–100% of shares)
- Esther Margaret Barnes appointed as a director
Companies House
2015
14 April 2015
- Became an appointed representative
FCA register
Director appointments and resignations, and trading names, appear under All events.
Firms like Independent Mortgage Experts
Other firms of the same type (mortgage adviser or broker), nearest first.
In Sheffield
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 Independent Mortgage Experts
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
- 7 years of accounts, charted
- All 5 events in its history
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Frequently asked questions about this firm
Is Independent Mortgage Experts Ltd FCA authorised?
What does appointed representative mean for Independent Mortgage Experts?
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Is Independent Mortgage Experts a scam or clone?
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Who runs Independent Mortgage Experts?
How long has Independent Mortgage Experts been in business?
What do Independent Mortgage Experts’ latest accounts show?
Does Independent Mortgage Experts 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