Thanks guys. It appears that the latest version has an LG compressor unit, which sounds reasonable enough. They are indeed the better part of 400 quid hence a bit of a saving but, whilst it is relatively long lived, I'm actually not a huge fan of my current Shoreline. It has a Danfoss (BD35?) compressor, but has always seemed a bit power hungry and is now running virtually 24/7. I've looked for ages at having it fettled by a fridge tech, but they appear to be unicorns. The current Shoreline appears to be more or less the same model which seems to be an older standard of insulation if so surely can't match the latest models for efficiency.
I think you've hit the nail on the head re quality control. I guess that's pretty much what I'm seeking opinion on here in terms of where Alpicool sit.