as I am aware of the methods of carrying out due dilligence to establish if a risk is worth taking
It's not that easy.
I've been in business since 1978 and have met more crooks than I've had Kentucky Fried Chickens, so I know a few ropes on how to see if somebody can be trusted
But "even I" don't know a good way to see if the 5 grand or so I am going to lend a flying school is going to outlast the school itself.
There is no way you can tell. A Ltd Co. files accounts, but they are usually late. My company's financial year ended 31 Dec but the accounts going to the Companies House were only finished recently. And even they are a distant-past snapshot... worse than a car MOT really. Under a certain turnover (£4M I think?) you don't disclose your sales figure, so what is left is a load of meaningless extrapolation from various asset categories, which are trivial to fiddle to look good at the year end.
Anyway 99% of PPL students are not going to be purchasing accounts and getting somebody half competent to give a view on them.
Also aviation has a bigger concentration of dodgy characters than any business I have ever seen, apart from personal computer dealers, and TalkTalk
Aviation attracts them like a magnet. I am just having an ex-UK EASA-145 £800 mag overhaul re-done in the USA and there is a nice list of things the UK company messed up. Good job I never put it in my plane