PPL in the North-West - Options?

[JDA2012]

Hi all - as you can see, I'm very new here, though please note that I have done a lot of reading both on this site and others to try and make that my initial questions are not too stupid

I am, as I suppose all complete newbies must be, looking to obtain my PPL. This will be with a view to moving onto a CPL and hopefully eventually an ATPL (the ultimate goals being A) enjoying the simple joy of flying while B) making a living comparable with my current career and C) logging jet PIC time, which would seem to obscenely expensive outside of an airline).

I'm aware of the options to do the whole shebang as an integrated course (and the debate around this), as well as various sponsorship schemes, but right now none of these appear to be open, and I don't have the money to pay for such a course up-front whilst taking 18 months off work. Spreading it out to an average of £1k/month over around 3 years is quite possible though, so whilst I await a better option that is what I intend to do.

I am at this point rather regretting not taking the opportunity to join the RAF as a pilot back in 2002 - I had LASEK at this time (given the initial -3.25 prescription and 9 years with no problems I do not suppose this is a problem for the medical) and the employer with whom I took work to fund the operation offered me a better job with much better money, so I basically sold out and am now far too old for that route.

I've looked at doing an FAA-PPL in Florida, but this seems not to be a good choice, both generally due to procedural differences and specifically given my situation. Given that, I have looked for courses available locally (to Manchester) and have come up with the following - I am aware that I would be well advised to get my Class I medical done at LGW before spending any cash!

I would be very grateful for either general advice or specific comments on the below or other local operators:

Flight Academy (Barton) - £6400 Xmas price quoted but the whole price list is dated 2008 and full payment is required in advance, which I understand is a big red flag. Cessna 152.

Ravenair (Liverpool) - £6639 is quoted and appears to be on a Pay-As-You-Go basis, but I am aware both that this company no longer flies from Barton (adding travel costs) and that several members here have negative views. PA38.

Target Aviation - £6941 is quoted as a price from Liverpool, with Barton apparently being available as an alternative (need to enquire about pricing). This seems a good deal given that everything and the kitchen sink is thrown in, though I note that Target are not an FTO and as such I will likely be dealing with one of the other companies mentioned here anyway. PA38 / Cessna 152.

Flight Academy Barton (appears to be distinct from the other Flight Academy - different website and prices) - £7425 is quoted as an all-in price once again, though I note that this seems to include quite a lot less that the Target price. Cessna 152.

LAC Flying School (Barton) - £7628 is quoted as an all-in price (once the VAT is added to the website price of £6357) but again falls short of everything thrown in by Target. Cessna 150 / Grob 115.

Thank you both for reading this far and for any advice offered!