1. Who we are
Northstar Funding is a trading name of Fintelligent Ltd (“we”, “us” or “our”). Fintelligent Ltd operates the Northstar Funding commercial funding advisory and brokerage service and is the controller of the personal information described in this notice.
We help businesses review existing funding, assess new requirements, consider appropriate structures and approach potentially suitable finance providers. This notice explains how we collect, use, disclose and protect personal information when you visit our website, make an enquiry or otherwise deal with us.
2. The information we collect
The information we collect depends on how you interact with us. It may include:
- Your name, job title and business contact details.
- Information about your business, its owners, directors and relevant employees.
- The amount and purpose of the finance being sought.
- Financial information, including turnover, accounts, forecasts, bank statements, existing borrowing and details of assets or liabilities.
- Identification, address and eligibility information.
- Information about directors, shareholders, guarantors and beneficial owners.
- Correspondence, call notes, documents and records of our interactions.
- Information received from lenders, professional advisers, introducers and publicly available sources.
- Website and device information, such as IP address, browser type, pages viewed and cookie preferences.
- Marketing preferences.
Please do not provide personal information about another person unless you are authorised to do so and have made them aware of this notice.
We do not intentionally request special-category information through our initial enquiry form. If such information becomes relevant, we will identify an appropriate lawful basis and additional condition before using it.
3. How we obtain information
We may obtain personal information directly from you; from another director, employee or representative of your business; from an accountant, adviser, broker, introducer or other authorised representative; from lenders and other finance providers; from identity-verification, fraud-prevention and credit-reference services; from Companies House and other public sources; and automatically when you use our website, subject to your cookie choices.
If we receive your information from another source, we will provide the required privacy information within the applicable period unless an exemption applies.
4. Why we use your information
We may use personal information to receive, review and respond to enquiries; understand the business, its existing funding and its requirements; assess possible finance options and recommend an appropriate structure; identify potentially relevant lenders; prepare and package an opportunity; communicate with you; make permitted lender introductions; support the application and completion process; conduct identity, fraud, eligibility or compliance checks; maintain records; manage complaints and legal claims; improve and protect our services and systems; comply with legal obligations; and send marketing communications where permitted.
We provide commercial funding advice and act as an intermediary, not a lender. A lender will normally act as a separate controller of the personal information it receives and will provide its own privacy information.
5. Our lawful bases
Taking steps towards or performing a contract
We use information when necessary to respond to a request, provide our commercial funding advisory and brokerage service or perform an agreement with you.
Legitimate interests
We may use information where necessary for our legitimate interests or those of another organisation, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights. These interests include operating and developing our business, responding to enquiries, identifying potentially relevant finance providers, maintaining records, protecting our systems, preventing fraud and establishing or defending legal claims.
Legal obligation
We may process information where necessary to meet legal, regulatory, tax, accounting, fraud-prevention or law-enforcement obligations.
Consent
We rely on consent where the law requires it, including for certain electronic marketing, non-essential cookies or a disclosure for which consent is appropriate. You may withdraw consent at any time.
6. Lender introductions and credit checks
We will not send your finance opportunity to lenders indiscriminately. We will normally discuss the proposed approach with you and obtain your permission before sharing identifiable information with a lender. We may initially discuss an opportunity on an anonymised basis where appropriate.
A lender may undertake identity, fraud, affordability or credit-reference checks. Before an identifiable application is made, we will explain the proposed next step and the lender should provide information about its own processing.
We do not make solely automated decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects. Lenders make their own independent credit, pricing and approval decisions.
7. Who we share information with
Where necessary and lawful, we may share information with selected finance providers; people within your business and authorised representatives; professional advisers; identity, fraud-prevention and credit-reference providers; CRM, storage, email, hosting, analytics and other technology providers; insurers, auditors and compliance advisers; regulators, courts, law-enforcement bodies and public authorities; a prospective purchaser, investor or successor; and other parties where you authorise the disclosure.
Service providers acting on our behalf may only use personal information in accordance with our instructions and contractual safeguards. We do not sell personal information.
8. International transfers
Some service providers may process information outside the United Kingdom. Where information is transferred to a country not covered by UK adequacy regulations, we will use an appropriate safeguard where required. This may include the UK International Data Transfer Agreement, the UK Addendum to approved standard contractual clauses or another legally recognised mechanism.
9. How long we keep information
We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary, including to meet legal, regulatory, accounting and dispute-resolution requirements.
Information may be securely deleted or anonymised when it is no longer required.
10. Marketing
We may send business contacts relevant information about our services where permitted by law. Where consent is required, we will request it separately. You can opt out using an unsubscribe link or by contacting us. You have an absolute right to object to the use of your personal information for direct marketing.
12. Keeping information secure
We use appropriate organisational and technical measures designed to protect personal information against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, loss or destruction. No internet transmission or storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. You should use an appropriate secure method when sending particularly sensitive or confidential documents.
13. Your data-protection rights
Depending on the circumstances, you may have the right to request access; correct inaccurate information; request erasure or restriction; object to legitimate-interest processing or direct marketing; receive certain information in a portable format; withdraw consent; and ask for human intervention in relation to certain automated decisions.
These rights are not absolute. We may need to verify your identity before responding. To exercise a right, email enquiries@northstarfunding.co.uk. We will normally respond within one month, although the law permits extensions in some circumstances.
14. Complaints
Please contact us first if you have a concern. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. Telephone: 0303 123 1113. Website: ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint.
15. Changes to this notice
We may update this notice when our services, suppliers or legal obligations change. The latest version will be published on our website with its revision date. If a change materially affects how we use personal information, we will take reasonable steps to bring it to the attention of affected individuals before the new use begins.