Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

Westminster Bridging Finance is a trading name of Construction Capital (“we”, “us”, “our”). We are a commercial finance brokerage specialising in bridging loans and short-term property finance in Westminster and across the United Kingdom.

For the purposes of UK data protection law, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, we are the data controller responsible for your personal data.

2. What Data We Collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal data:

• Identity data: Full name, date of birth, and identification documents
• Contact data: Email address, telephone number, and postal address
• Property data: Property address, property type, estimated value, and details of any existing charges
• Financial and loan data: Loan amount required, loan purpose, exit strategy, income and asset information
• Technical data: IP address, browser type, operating system, and pages visited on our website
• Communications data: Records of correspondence, enquiry forms, telephone calls, and emails

3. How We Use Your Data

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

• To process your enquiry and respond to your request for bridging finance
• To match your requirements with suitable lenders from our panel and present financing options
• To communicate with you regarding your application, including updates, documentation requests, and completion matters
• To send you marketing communications about our services where you have provided your consent
• To improve our website, services, and customer experience through analytics
• To comply with legal and regulatory obligations

4. Legal Basis for Processing

We process your personal data on the following legal bases under the UK GDPR:

• Contractual necessity (Article 6(1)(b)): Processing is necessary to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract and to perform our services
• Legitimate interest (Article 6(1)(f)): Processing is necessary for our legitimate interests in operating our brokerage, improving our services, and managing client relationships, provided these interests are not overridden by your rights
• Consent (Article 6(1)(a)): Where you have given clear consent for us to process your personal data for marketing purposes. You may withdraw consent at any time
• Legal obligation (Article 6(1)(c)): Processing is necessary to comply with legal or regulatory requirements, including anti-money laundering obligations

5. Data Sharing

We may share your personal data with the following categories of third parties:

• Lenders: We share your data with lenders on our panel in order to obtain finance quotations and process applications on your behalf
• Professional advisors: Solicitors, valuers, and other professionals involved in your transaction
• CRM and IT providers: We use customer relationship management systems and IT service providers to manage client data securely
• Analytics providers: We use analytics services to understand website usage and improve our services
• Regulatory and legal authorities: Where required by law or regulation

We do not sell your personal data to third parties. We require all third parties to respect the security of your personal data and to treat it in accordance with the law.

6. Data Retention

We retain your personal data in accordance with the following retention periods:

• Financial records: Retained for a minimum of 6 years from the end of the business relationship, in line with regulatory and accounting requirements
• Marketing consent records: Retained until you withdraw your consent or unsubscribe from communications
• Enquiry data: Where an enquiry does not proceed to application, data is retained for up to 2 years before secure deletion
• Website analytics data: Retained in accordance with our analytics provider's retention policies, typically up to 26 months

7. Your Rights

Under UK data protection law, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Right of access: You have the right to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Right to rectification: You have the right to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal data
• Right to erasure: You have the right to request deletion of your personal data in certain circumstances
• Right to restriction of processing: You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your data in certain circumstances
• Right to data portability: You have the right to receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format
• Right to object: You have the right to object to processing based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing purposes
• Right to withdraw consent: Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out prior to withdrawal

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details in Section 11 below. 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.

8. Cookies

Our website uses cookies to enhance your browsing experience. We use the following types of cookies:

• Essential cookies: These are necessary for the website to function correctly and cannot be disabled. They include cookies that manage sessions, security, and cookie consent preferences.
• Analytics cookies: These help us understand how visitors interact with our website by collecting information anonymously. We use this data to improve our website and services.
• Marketing cookies: These are used to deliver relevant advertisements and track campaign effectiveness. They may be set by our advertising partners.

You can manage your cookie preferences through your browser settings or via the cookie consent banner displayed when you first visit our website. Please note that disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of our website.

9. Security

We take the security of your personal data seriously and implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect it against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures include:

• Encryption of data in transit using SSL/TLS and at rest where appropriate
• Strict access controls ensuring only authorised personnel can access personal data
• Regular security reviews and updates to our systems and processes
• Staff training on data protection and information security

Whilst we strive to protect your personal data, no method of transmission or storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security but will notify you and the relevant authorities of any data breach in accordance with our legal obligations.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, services, or legal requirements. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated revision date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically. Where changes are significant, we will make reasonable efforts to notify you directly.

11. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this privacy policy, wish to exercise your data protection rights, or have concerns about how we handle your personal data, please contact us: