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 5 years
- Protected through the principal
- No FCA actions
- Active company since 2020
- Accounts filed up to 30 November 2025
Responsible principal firm
REAL FINANCE LTD Reference number: 809389 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.
- PAB Finance Ltd (FRN 940096) is an AR of REAL FINANCE LTD (FRN 809389). When you use PAB Finance's services, the FCA authorisation sits with the principal firm.
- Example: if you take financial advice from PAB Finance, 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
Suite G1B, Salvus House, Aykley Heads, Durham, DH1 5TS, United Kingdom
In the full report: 2 background checks
- What kind of line 0191 338 3488 is
- Who else gives the postcode DH1 5TS
Other names (3)
If you were contacted under any of these names, it is this firm.
- PAB Finance Ltd t/a Real Finance Trading name: A name it trades under now.
- Commercial Finance Ltd Former name: A name it was registered under before.
- Commercial Finance Ltd t/a Real Finance Former trading name: A name it used to trade under.
Warning
Scammers have impersonated this firm
Fraudsters have used this firm's name or details with their own contact information to appear genuine. Check whatever you were given below, and against the firm's real details above.
Fake phone numbers (1)
- 020 3393 4126
Fake email addresses (2)
- contact@thecommercialfinance.co.uk
- info@thecommercialfinance.co.uk
The FCA warning these came from
- thecommercialfinance.co.uk 22 February 2024
Scammers change these details often. Always check the live FCA warning.
FCA permissions and consumer protection
- Protection through the principal firmProtection works through Real Finance 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.
The clone warnings above are scammers using this firm's name, not something the firm has done.
Companies House record
The company behind the firm: its status, age, registered office and directors.
- Company number
- 13018811 (opens Companies House in a new tab)
- Company status
- Active
- Company type
- Private limited company
- Incorporated
- 15 November 2020 (5 years old)
- Registered office
- Suite G1b Salvus House, Aykley Heads, Durham, Co Durham, DH1 5TS, United Kingdom
- Nature of business
-
- Financial intermediation not elsewhere classified (SIC 64999)
Directors and company secretaries
| Name | Role | Born | Appointed | Other companies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peter Blacklock | Director | Sep 1965 | 15 Nov 2020 | 2 other companies |
Other companies run by its director
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
- 2
- closed down
- 1
- still active
- 1
In the full report: all 2 companies, named
- What each company does, and whether it is still trading
- Which of its director sits on each board, and since when
- Any that went into liquidation or administration
Filed accounts and finances
Net assets
£20
Same as £20
Employees (average)
1
Same as 1
Owed within a year
£18.2k
+53% from £11.9k
Assets and liabilities
In the full report: all 5 years of accounts
- Every year from 2021 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 13018811. 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
PAB Finance’s history from the FCA register and Companies House, newest first.
2024
9 July 2024
- Changed its registered name from "Commercial Finance Ltd"
FCA register
22 February 2024
- FCA warned the public about a scam impersonating this firm
FCA warning list
2020
3 December 2020
- Became an appointed representative
FCA register
15 November 2020
- Incorporated at Companies House
- Peter Blacklock took control (75–100% of shares)
Companies House
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 PAB Finance
Other FCA-listed firms that share a director, phone number or address with PAB Finance. A link shows who the firm is tied to, not whether either can be trusted.
- connected firms
- 2
- share its postcode
- 2
In the full report: all 2 connected firms, named
- How each is linked: the same postcode (2)
- Who links each one: the named directors, with dates
Firms like PAB Finance
Other firms of the same type (credit broker), nearest first.
In the Durham (DH) 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 PAB Finance
Everything on this page, plus everything locked above, in one dated PDF you can keep, file or send on.
- 2 other companies its directors have run, named
- 2 background checks on its contact details
- 5 years of accounts, charted
- All 9 events in its history
- 2 connected firms, named, and who links them
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Frequently asked questions about this firm
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Does PAB Finance use any other names?
Sources and links
- Its entry on the FCA register register.fca.org.uk
- Its Companies House record gov.uk
- FCA warning: thecommercialfinance.co.uk fca.org.uk
- Complaints the Financial Ombudsman Service can help with financial-ombudsman.org.uk
- Report a scam to the FCA fca.org.uk