Privacy Policy of Yescapo Limited
Thank you for visiting the privacy notice of Yescapo.com.
The website Yescapo.com is operated by Yescapo Limited. We value your privacy and are committed to safeguarding your personal information. This notice explains how your personal data is collected, used and protected when you access Yescapo’s website. It also outlines your privacy rights and the legal framework that applies to your data.
Please refer to the Glossary for definitions of the terms used in this privacy notice.
1. Key information and who we are
Purpose of this privacy notice
In this privacy notice, Data Protection Legislation refers to the legal rules governing the handling of Personal Data. In the United Kingdom, this includes the Data Protection Act 2018, the UK General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and any other national laws concerning privacy and data protection.
This notice describes how Yescapo collects and processes your personal data when you use our Websites, including any information you provide when registering to buy or sell a business, franchise or commercial property, requesting details about potential sellers or buyers, or receiving any other services offered by Yescapo.
The Website is not intended for use by children, and we do not knowingly collect data from minors. You should read this notice together with any other privacy or fair-processing notices we may provide on occasions when we collect or process personal information about you. This notice supplements those documents and does not replace them.
Controller
This notice is issued on behalf of Yescapo. When you provide personal information to Yescapo, Yescapo acts as the Data Controller and is responsible for your personal data (referred to throughout as "Yescapo", "we", "us" or "our").
When we receive your personal or business information together with data belonging to your clients, we act as a Data Processor. Where personal data is shared with advertisers of businesses, franchises, commercial properties or other services (for example, when you complete a form on our Website), we act as a joint Data Controller.
"Personal Data", "Data Controller" and "Data Processor" have the meanings assigned to them under Data Protection Legislation. See the Glossary for details.
We have appointed a data privacy manager responsible for all matters relating to this notice. If you have questions regarding this privacy notice or wish to exercise any of your rights, please contact our data privacy manager using the details below.
Contact details
For all privacy-related questions, regardless of your location, please contact: support@yescapo.com
You may also write to us at: Yescapo Limited, 7/F, MW Tower, 111 Bonham Strand, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong.
You are entitled to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office ("ICO"), the UK regulator for data protection matters (www.ico.org.uk). However, we encourage you to contact us first so we may address your concerns promptly.
Changes to this notice and duty to notify us of changes
We rely on accurate and up-to-date information. Please inform us of any changes to your personal data during your relationship with us.
Third-party links
The Website may contain links to third-party websites, plug-ins or applications. When you follow such links, third parties may collect or process your data. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these external websites. We encourage you to review their privacy notices separately.
2. The information we collect about you
Personal data refers to any information that can identify an individual. It does not include anonymised data, where identifying elements have been removed.
We may collect, use, store and transfer the following categories of personal data:
- Identity Data — first name, last name, username or other identifiers, and information required for identity verification checks.
- Contact Data — addresses, email addresses, telephone numbers.
- Financial Data — bank details and payment card information.
- Transaction Data — payment records and details of services purchased.
- Login Credentials Data — usernames, email addresses, passwords, phone numbers and security-question responses.
- Profile Data — interests, preferences, feedback and survey responses.
- Usage Data — information about your activity on the Websites, recent searches and purchases.
- Marketing and Communications Data — your marketing preferences and communication settings.
We also create and process "Aggregated Data" such as statistical information. Although Aggregated Data may derive from personal data, it is not considered personal unless it can be used to directly or indirectly identify you. If Aggregated Data can identify you, we treat it as personal data.
We do not collect any "Special Categories of Personal Data" (including data relating to health, ethnicity, political views, sexuality, etc.) or information on criminal convictions.
If you fail to provide personal data
If we need certain personal data to comply with the law or fulfil a contract with you and you fail to provide it, we may be unable to perform that contract. We will notify you if this becomes relevant.
3. How your personal data is collected
We collect personal data in several ways:
- Direct interactions — when you complete forms or contact us by post, phone, email or otherwise. This includes when you:
- request our services;
- submit an enquiry about a business, franchise or commercial property;
- create an account;
- advertise a business, franchise opportunity or commercial property;
- request marketing materials;
- participate in competitions or surveys;
- provide feedback.
- Automated technologies — we may collect Technical Data (email open rates, click behaviour, device details, browsing activity) through cookies, server logs and similar tools. See our cookie policy for details.
- Third-party sources — including:
- advertising networks;
- analytics providers;
- payment service providers;
- publicly accessible databases;
- social login platforms such as Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Microsoft and Apple.
4. How we use your personal data
We use your personal data only where legally permitted. The main legal bases are:
- performance of a contract with you;
- our legitimate interests, provided your rights are not overridden;
- compliance with legal or regulatory obligations.
We generally do not rely on consent except where you choose to register using social media credentials or where you opt in to receive marketing communications. You may withdraw consent at any time.
Purposes for using your personal data
Below is a summary of how we use your data and the legal grounds supporting each purpose.
We carry out identity checks on potential buyers and share results with sellers and brokers, relying on our legitimate interest in preventing fraud.
When you send an enquiry, we forward your details to the relevant seller, broker, agent or intermediary. This processing is necessary for contract performance.
When you register, we process your identity, contact and login information to set up your account under our contractual obligations.
If you advertise a business or related opportunity, we process relevant identity, contact and profile data to perform our contract with you.
We may notify you of opportunities that might interest you. This is done under contractual necessity or, for marketing emails, based on your explicit consent.
To deliver services and manage payments, we process identity, contact, financial, transaction and marketing data. This is necessary for contract performance and sometimes our legitimate interests in debt recovery.
We manage customer relationships — notify you of policy updates, request feedback, ask for surveys — based on contract performance, legal obligations and legitimate interests.
If you take part in competitions or surveys, we use relevant data for contractual performance and to develop our services.
We also process identity, contact, profile, usage, technical and login information to maintain and protect our Websites — relying on legitimate interests and legal obligations.
To provide relevant content and advertising, we rely on legitimate interests in understanding website activity and improving our services.
Technical and usage data also supports analytics aimed at improving user experience and business development.
We may recommend services that could interest you, using identity, contact, technical, usage and profile data under our legitimate interests.
For promoting our products or services, we use identity and contact data based on legitimate interests.
For sole traders seeking business valuations, we process identity, contact, financial, transaction and technical data to perform our contract with you.
Change of purpose
Your personal data will only be used for the purposes for which it was collected unless a new purpose is compatible with the original one. If we need to use your data for an unrelated purpose, we will inform you and explain the relevant legal basis.
5. Marketing
You have choices regarding how your personal data is used for marketing.
Promotional offers
You will receive marketing from us if you have expressly consented, requested information from us or purchased services, and have not withdrawn consent.
We may use Identity, Contact, Technical, Usage and Profile Data to determine which offers may interest you.
Third-party marketing
We will not share your personal data with third-party companies for their marketing unless you opt in. Although we may send information about third-party products or services, we do so only with your explicit consent, which you may withdraw at any time.
Opting out
You can stop receiving marketing communications at any time via unsubscribe links, account settings or by contacting customer support.
Opting out does not affect operational emails related to your account or use of the Website.
Cookies
You may configure your browser to refuse cookies. However, some Website functions may not work correctly if cookies are disabled. See our cookie policy for more details.
6. Disclosures of your personal data
If you submit an enquiry about a listing, we will share your details — including identity-verification results — with the intended recipient. We will not share your data with others unless you request it.
We may also share your data with:
- External service providers (IT, hosting, system administration);
- Professional advisers (lawyers, accountants, auditors, insurers);
- Identity verification providers acting as separate controllers;
- Regulators and public authorities where required by law;
- Potential buyers or merger parties if we restructure or sell our business.
All third parties must protect your data and use it only as instructed or permitted by law.
7. International transfers
Your data may be transferred outside the UK and EEA when shared within Yescapo or with sellers and advertisers located abroad, where you have requested such sharing.
8. Data security
We implement technical and organisational safeguards to prevent accidental loss, unauthorised access or misuse of your data. Access is limited to individuals with a legitimate business need and subject to confidentiality obligations.
We also maintain procedures for handling suspected data breaches and will notify you and relevant regulators when legally required.
9. Data retention
How long we keep your personal data
We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including meeting legal and accounting requirements.
Retention periods depend on the nature, quantity and sensitivity of the data and the legal or operational needs associated with it.
You may request deletion of your data in certain circumstances (see “Request erasure”).
We may anonymise your data for statistical or research purposes, in which case it may be used indefinitely without further notice.
For detailed retention information, please contact us using the details in the “Contact Details” section.
10. Your legal rights
You may have the following rights under data protection laws:
- Request access — receive a copy of your personal data and verify lawful processing.
- Request correction — correct incomplete or inaccurate data (verification may be required).
- Request erasure — request deletion of your data where no lawful basis for processing exists.
- Object to processing — where processing is based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
- Request restriction — suspend processing in certain circumstances.
- Request data transfer — receive your data or have it sent to another controller in a machine-readable format.
- Withdraw consent — at any time, where consent is the legal basis for processing.
If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact us.
No fee usually required
Accessing your data is free, unless your request is excessive or repetitive, in which case a reasonable fee may be charged.
What we may need from you
We may request additional information to verify your identity before fulfilling your request. This ensures your data is protected from unauthorised access.
Time limit to respond
We aim to respond within one month. Complex requests or multiple simultaneous requests may require more time, in which case we will notify you.
11. Glossary
Lawful basis definition
Legitimate interest — our interest in managing and operating our business, ensuring Website security and providing quality services. We balance these interests against your rights before processing data on this basis.
Performance of a contract — processing required to fulfil a contract with you or to take steps at your request before entering one.
Legal or regulatory obligation — processing required to comply with applicable laws.
Controller definition
Controller — a person or organisation that determines how and why personal data is processed.
Processor definition
Processor — a person or organisation that processes personal data on behalf of the controller.