On the register, but not FCA authorised
This firm is registered with the FCA for anti-money-laundering checks only, which is why it appears on the register. That is not authorisation: the FCA does not oversee how it treats customers, and FSCS protection does not apply.
- Registered for 5 years
- No FCA actions
- Active company since 2016
- Accounts filed up to 30 September 2023
What does this mean?
- Some businesses are required by law to have an anti-money-laundering supervisor. For this kind of business that supervisor is the FCA, and the registration is the only reason the firm appears on the FCA register.
- What the FCA checks is narrow: that the firm identifies its customers, keeps records, and reports suspicious activity. It is the anti-crime paperwork behind a bank asking you for ID.
- It does not check anything about you as a customer. Not whether the firm treats you fairly, not whether it is financially sound, not whether what it sells is any good. The FCA describes firms registered this way as “not authorised or subject to wider FCA regulation”.
- So if the firm fails or treats you badly, there is no FSCS compensation, and the Financial Ombudsman Service usually cannot look at a complaint about unregulated business.
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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No phone number on the FCA register
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Address
Portman House, 300 Pavilion Drive, Northampton Business Park, Northampton, NN4 7YE, United Kingdom
In the full report: 1 background check
- Who else gives the postcode NN4 7YE
Past FCA permissions and consumer protection
- Money-laundering registration onlyThis firm is registered for anti-money-laundering supervision only. It is not FCA-authorised. Money you hand over is not protected by the FSCS, and the Financial Ombudsman Service may not be able to consider a complaint about unregulated business.
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
- 10011121 (opens Companies House in a new tab)
- Company status
- Active
- Company type
- Private limited company
- Incorporated
- 17 February 2016 (10 years old)
- Registered office
- Portman House 300 Pavilion Drive, Northampton Business Park, Northampton, NN4 7YE, England
- Nature of business
-
- Financial intermediation not elsewhere classified (SIC 64999)
Directors and company secretaries
| Name | Role | Born | Appointed | Other companies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alexander Denis Winch Read | Director | Feb 1980 | 17 Feb 2016 | 10 other companies |
| Benjamin Stuart Graham Laidler | Director | Dec 1988 | 20 Nov 2024 | 7 other companies |
| Simon Daniel John Pratt | Director | Nov 1991 | 20 Nov 2024 | 7 other companies |
Other companies run by these 3 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
- 12
- closed down
- 1
- are FCA-registered
- 2
In the full report: all 12 companies, named
- What each company does, and whether it is still trading
- Which of these 3 directors sit on each board, and since when
- Any that went into liquidation or administration
- The 2 on the FCA register
- The 7 companies these 3 directors run together
Filed accounts and finances
Net assets
£1.09m
−3.2% from £1.13m
Cash at bank
£788k
+107% from £380k
Employees (average)
1
Same as 1
Owed within a year
£967k
+88% from £514k
Assets and liabilities
In the full report: all 4 years of accounts
- Every year from 2020 to 2023
- 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 10011121. 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
Portman Commercial Finance’s history from the FCA register and Companies House, newest first.
2022
16 March 2022
- Alex Denis Winch Read gave up control
- Portman Finance Group Ltd took control (75–100% of shares)
Companies House
2021
6 October 2021
- Registered with the FCA
FCA register
2017
16 February 2017
- Alex Denis Winch Read took control (75–100% of shares)
Companies House
2016
17 February 2016
- Incorporated at Companies House
Companies House
In the full report: all 8 events
- All 8 events in its history (5 shown here)
- Every director appointment and resignation: 3
Firms connected to Portman Commercial Finance
Other FCA-listed firms that share a director, phone number or address with Portman Commercial Finance. A link shows who the firm is tied to, not whether either can be trusted.
- connected firms
- 2
- share a director
- 2
- share its postcode
- 2
In the full report: all 2 connected firms, named
- How each is linked: shared directors (2), the same postcode (2)
- Who links each one: the named directors, with dates
Get the full report on Portman Commercial Finance
Everything on this page, plus everything locked above, in one dated PDF you can keep, file or send on.
- 12 other companies its directors have run, named
- 1 background check on its contact details
- 4 years of accounts, charted
- All 8 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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What do Portman Commercial Finance’s latest accounts show?
Sources and links
- Its entry on the FCA register register.fca.org.uk
- Its Companies House record gov.uk
- Report a scam to the FCA fca.org.uk