Website Privacy Policy

Brown McLeod Limited respects your privacy. This policy explains how we collect and use personal data through our website, www.brownmcleod.co.uk (“Our Site”), including information you provide when contacting us and limited technical information collected through cookies and similar technologies.

1. Who we are

Our Site is owned and operated by Brown McLeod Limited, a company registered in England under company number 02950018. Our registered office and main trading address is The Old Workshop, 1 Ecclesall Road South, Sheffield S11 9PA. We are a firm of Chartered Accountants regulated by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).

For privacy enquiries, including requests to exercise your rights, please contact Lucy Suarez by email at lucy@brownmcleod.co.uk, by telephone on 0114 268 4747, or by post at The Old Workshop, 1 Ecclesall Road South, Sheffield S11 9PA.

This policy applies only to personal data collected through Our Site. If you become a client, we may provide additional privacy information covering accountancy, tax, payroll, bookkeeping, audit, anti-money laundering and related professional services.

2. Personal data we collect and how we use it

Personal data means any information that identifies, or could identify, you. Through Our Site we may collect the personal data set out below.

Name, contact details, business details and enquiry information.

How collected

Provided by you when you use a contact button, form or link on Our Site.

Purpose and lawful basis

To respond to and manage your enquiry, route it to the relevant person, and take steps at your request before a possible contract. We rely on legitimate interests and, where relevant, pre-contract steps.

Technical information such as IP address, device, browser, operating system and site-use information.

How collected

Collected automatically by our website, hosting systems, cookies and similar technologies.

Purpose and lawful basis

To operate, maintain, secure and administer Our Site and business systems. We rely on legitimate interests and legal obligations where applicable.

Analytics information, such as pages visited, links clicked, approximate location, traffic source, browser/device information and online identifiers.

How collected

Collected through Google Analytics and related cookies where permitted by law and any cookie controls on Our Site.

Purpose and lawful basis

To understand and improve how visitors use Our Site. Where consent is required for analytics cookies or similar technologies, we rely on consent; where the law permits certain low-risk analytics or statistical cookies without consent, we provide clear information and a way to opt out.

We do not intentionally collect special category personal data, children’s data, or criminal offence data through Our Site. Please do not include sensitive personal data in contact forms unless it is necessary for your enquiry. We do not use website data for automated decision-making or profiling.

3. How long we keep personal data

We keep personal data collected through Our Site only for as long as necessary for the reason it was collected. Contact enquiries and related emails are kept for as long as needed to respond to and manage the enquiry. If an enquiry becomes a client matter, relevant personal data may be retained in accordance with our client-file retention requirements and legal, regulatory, professional, accounting or reporting obligations. Analytics and cookie information is retained in accordance with our Google Analytics settings and the lifespan of the relevant cookies, unless you delete or manage cookies sooner.

4. Sharing, storage and transfers

We do not sell personal data collected through Our Site. We may share or make personal data available to website hosting providers, email providers, IT support providers, cyber-security providers, professional advisers, insurers, Google Analytics, and other service providers who help us operate, maintain, secure and administer Our Site and business systems. Enquiries may also be routed internally to the relevant person in our business or to a general company email address.

We may also share personal data where required by law, regulation, court order, professional obligations, or enquiries from authorities or supervisory bodies such as ICAEW, HMRC or the Information Commissioner’s Office. If we sell, transfer or merge parts of our business or assets, relevant personal data may transfer to the new owner for the same purposes described in this policy.

We generally store personal data collected through Our Site in the UK. Where service providers process personal data outside the UK, we will use appropriate safeguards where required, such as adequacy regulations, approved contractual protections or other lawful transfer mechanisms. We also use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data, restrict access to those with a legitimate need to know, and deal with data breaches where required by law.

5. Your rights and choices

You have rights under data protection law, including the right to be informed, access your personal data, correct inaccurate data, request deletion, restrict processing, object to processing, withdraw consent where we rely on consent, and request data portability in certain circumstances. You also have rights relating to automated decision-making, but we do not use personal data collected through Our Site for automated decision-making or profiling.

You can choose whether to submit personal data through the contact parts of Our Site. If you contact us, we need enough information to understand and respond to your enquiry. You can control cookies and similar technologies using any cookie controls available on Our Site and through your browser settings.

To make a subject access request or exercise any of your rights, please contact us using the details in section 7. When responding to a subject access request, we will carry out reasonable and proportionate searches for the personal data covered by your request. We normally respond within one month, although this may be extended where permitted by law if a request is complex or you make multiple requests. We may ask for information reasonably needed to confirm your identity or understand your request.

If you have a data protection complaint, you can contact us using the details in section 7. We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint within 30 days, take appropriate steps to investigate and respond without undue delay, keep you informed where appropriate, and tell you the outcome. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office if you are unhappy with how we handle your complaint or personal data.

6. Cookies and similar technologies

Cookies are small files placed on your device, and similar storage and access technologies may store information on, or access information from, your device. We use strictly necessary cookies to help Our Site function properly and may use analytics or statistical cookies, including Google Analytics and website-platform analytics, to understand how visitors use Our Site and improve content, navigation and performance.

Some cookies and similar technologies require your consent before they are used. The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 permits certain low-risk storage and access technologies, such as some analytics or statistical cookies used to improve a website, to be used without consent where the legal conditions are met. Where we rely on such an exception, we will give clear information about the technology and provide a simple way to opt out. Where consent is required, we will ask for it through the cookie controls available on Our Site before placing those cookies. You can refuse or withdraw consent, or opt out where applicable, using those controls. You can also manage or delete cookies through your browser settings, although blocking strictly necessary cookies may affect how the Site works.

The following first-party cookies may be placed on your computer or device:

Name of cookie: crumb

Provider

Squarespace / website platform

Purpose

Used to support website security and core site functionality.

Category

Strictly necessary

Expiry

Session

Name of cookie: ss_cvr

Provider

Squarespace / website platform

Purpose

Used to identify unique visitors and track visits to Our Site for website analytics and performance reporting.

Category

Analytics

Expiry

2 years

Name of cookie: ss_cvt

Provider

Squarespace / website platform

Purpose

Used to identify the current visit and support website analytics and performance reporting.

Category

Analytics

Expiry

30 mins

The following Google Analytics cookies may also be placed on your computer or device where you have consented to analytics cookies through the cookie controls made available on Our Site, or where the law permits their use without consent and you have not opted out.

Name of cookie: _ga

Provider

Google Analytics

Purpose

Used to distinguish visitors and help us understand how visitors use Our Site.

Category

Analytics

Expiry

2 years

Name of cookie: _ga7MYJ13M40G

Provider

Google Analytics

Purpose

Used to persist session state and help Google Analytics measure visits and interactions on Our Site.

Category

Analytics

Expiry

2 years

In addition to any controls that we provide, you can choose to enable or disable cookies in your internet browser. You can also refuse or withdraw consent, or opt out where applicable, for Google Analytics and other analytics or non-essential cookies at any time through any cookie controls made available on Our Site. Most internet browsers also enable you to choose whether you wish to disable all cookies or only third-party cookies. Browser settings are an additional control and do not replace the consent or opt-out choices made through Our Site’s cookie controls. For further details, please consult the help menu in your internet browser or the documentation that came with your device.

You can choose to delete cookies on your computer or device at any time, however you may lose any information that enables you to access Our Site more quickly and efficiently including, but not limited to, login and personalisation settings.

It is recommended that you keep your internet browser and operating system up to date and that you consult the help and guidance provided by the developer of your internet browser and manufacturer of your computer or device if you are unsure about adjusting your privacy settings.

7. Contact us

To contact us about personal data, data protection, complaints, or requests to exercise your rights, please contact Lucy Suarez:

Email address: lucy@brownmcleod.co.uk.

Telephone number: 0114 268 4747.

Postal address: The Old Workshop, 1 Ecclesall Road South, Sheffield S11 9PA.

8. Changes to this policy

We may review and update this policy from time to time, including if the law changes or if our use of personal data changes. Updated versions will be posted on Our Site and will apply from the date they are published