Privacy Policy

Last updated: February 2026

1. Who We Are

Watkins Commercial is a specialist business transfer agency based at Curtis House, 34 Third Avenue, Hove, BN3 2PD. We act as data controller for the personal information we collect and process in connection with our business transfer, commercial property and advisory services.

If you have any questions about this privacy policy or how we handle your personal data, please contact us at office@watkinscom.co.uk or call 01273 709090.

2. What Data We Collect

We may collect and process the following personal data:

Identity data: Full name, title, date of birth
Contact data: Email address, telephone numbers, postal address
Financial data: Information about your financial position relevant to a business purchase or sale (e.g. available funds, mortgage arrangements)
Business enquiry data: Details of businesses you are interested in buying or selling, your sector preferences, budget range and timeline
Transaction data: Records of business sales, purchases, valuations or advisory services we have provided to you
Technical data: IP address, browser type and version, time zone, operating system and platform when you use our website
Communication data: Records of correspondence, telephone calls, emails and meeting notes

3. Why We Collect Your Data

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

To provide our business transfer and commercial property services, including matching buyers with suitable businesses
To respond to your enquiries and provide you with information about businesses for sale or our services
To arrange and manage property viewings and business inspections
To prepare business valuations and market appraisals
To manage the sale process through to legal completion
To comply with our legal and regulatory obligations as members of NAEA and ICBA
To send you marketing communications about new business listings (where you have consented)
To improve our website and services

4. Legal Basis for Processing

We rely on the following legal bases under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR):

Contract performance: Where processing is necessary to fulfil our obligations under an agency agreement or instruction to act on your behalf
Legitimate interest: Where processing is necessary for our legitimate business interests, such as matching buyers to businesses, managing our business relationships and improving our services
Consent: Where you have given us specific consent, for example to receive marketing emails about new business listings
Legal obligation: Where we are required to process data to comply with anti-money laundering regulations or other legal requirements

5. Who We Share Your Data With

In the course of providing our services, we may share your personal data with:

Business vendors or buyers: To facilitate introductions and viewings (only with your prior agreement)
Solicitors and legal advisers: Acting on behalf of either party in a transaction
Accountants: Where financial information needs to be verified or reviewed
Landlords and their agents: Where a lease assignment or new lease is required
Regulatory bodies: NAEA, ICBA and other professional bodies as required
IT service providers: Who help us maintain our website and business systems

We will never sell your personal data to third parties for marketing purposes.

6. Data Retention

We retain your personal data for as long as is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected. As a general rule:

Active enquiries: Data is retained for the duration of your engagement with us, plus 12 months
Completed transactions: Records are retained for 6 years from the date of completion, in line with HMRC requirements and limitation periods
Marketing contacts: Data is retained until you withdraw your consent

7. Your Rights Under GDPR

Under the UK GDPR, you have the following rights:

Right of access: You can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
Right to rectification: You can ask us to correct any inaccurate or incomplete data
Right to erasure: You can ask us to delete your data in certain circumstances
Right to restrict processing: You can ask us to limit how we use your data
Right to data portability: You can request your data in a machine-readable format
Right to object: You can object to processing based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing
Right to withdraw consent: Where processing is based on consent, you can withdraw it at any time

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at office@watkinscom.co.uk. We will respond to your request within one month.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk if you believe your data protection rights have been violated.

8. Cookies

Our website uses cookies to improve your browsing experience. Cookies are small text files stored on your device that help us understand how you use our site. We use:

Essential cookies: Required for the website to function properly
Analytics cookies: To understand how visitors interact with our website and help us improve it
Preference cookies: To remember your settings and preferences

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Please note that disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of our website.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated revision date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

10. Contact

For any data protection queries, please contact:
Data Protection Officer
Watkins Commercial
Curtis House, 34 Third Avenue
Hove, BN3 2PD
Email: office@watkinscom.co.uk
Telephone: 01273 709090