1. Business Description & Legal Background
| Registered Company Name | CARD EMPIRE LTD |
|---|---|
| Companies House CRN | 14417073 (Incorporated 13 October 2022 — 4+ Years Active Trading) |
| Company Status | Active (Compliant UK Limited Company) |
| Nature of Business (SIC) | 47799 — Retail sale of other second-hand goods in stores (not incl. antiques) |
| HMRC VAT Registration | GB 418 9205 34 |
| Registered Commercial Address | 1st Floor Afflecks, 52 Church Street, Manchester, England, M4 1PW |
2. Operational Footprint: Physical Store & E-Commerce
🏬 Physical Retail Store & Trade Counter
Location: 1st Floor Afflecks, 52 Church Street, Manchester M4 1PW (Google Maps Verified).
Operations: Since 2022, Card Empire has operated a dedicated retail counter in Manchester's iconic Afflecks shopping emporium. Features include walk-in collector appraisals, authenticated slab displays, and on-site card grading submissions.
🌐 Online E-Commerce Operations
Digital Presence: Direct-to-consumer e-commerce storefront with live inventory tracking and real-time stock sync.
Customer Reach: Over 54,000 verified orders dispatched to collectors across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, maintaining a 4.91/5.0 customer satisfaction score.
3. Commercial Turnover & GMV Performance
| Financial Metric | Reported Value | Verification & Settlement Source |
|---|---|---|
| Annual GMV (FY 2025/2026) | £2,860,000 GBP | Audited Annual Accounts & VAT Returns |
| Cumulative Trading GMV | £7,420,000+ GBP | Total volume processed since incorporation (Oct 2022) |
| Completed UK Customer Orders | 54,200+ Dispatched Orders | Royal Mail Tracked 24 Barcode Scans |
| Primary Commercial Settlement Bank | Lloyds Bank PLC | Sort Code: 30-96-26 | Account: 78291045 |
| Payment Gateways & Card Clearing | Stripe Payments UK & Lloyds Cardnet | Secure PCI-DSS Level 1 compliant card processing |
4. Strict Quality Assurance & Counterfeit Prevention SOP
Card Empire LTD enforces a mandatory four-tier authentication pipeline for all secondary-market trading cards:
- Step 1 (Slab Weld Integrity): 365nm UV luminescence scanning of acrylic sonic welds to identify ultrasonic seam reopening.
- Step 2 (Label & Microprint Hologram): 20x optical magnification verification of PSA security fonts, barcode density, and proprietary holographic watermarks.
- Step 3 (Card Condition Verification): Surface gloss, centering ratio, and corner micro-fraying audits against official grade criteria.
- Step 4 (Tamper-Proof Dispatch): Hermetic seal in 100-micron archival sleeves, armored bubble wrap, and insured Royal Mail Tracked 24 shipping.