Privacy Policy
Last updated: 15 August 2026
Placement Scout is a free directory of boutique UK finance firms, delivered by email signup. This policy explains what data we collect when you sign up, why, and the rights you have over it under the EU/UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Who is responsible
Placement Scout is operated by Michael Stylianou (the “data controller”). For any privacy question or request, contact michaelstylianou2@gmail.com.
What we collect
Just your email address, submitted through the signup form to get access to the database. We don’t ask for your name, university, or anything else. We run no advertising trackers and nothing that follows you to other websites; the one measurement tool in use is described under Analytics below.
Why we process it
Solely on the basis of your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR) when you submit the form — to send the database access link and the weekly “new firms this week” digest. We don’t use your email for anything else, and we don’t sell or share it with anyone outside the processors listed below.
Analytics
We use Vercel Web Analytics to count page views and approximate visitor numbers — how many people read a page, and which site they arrived from. It is cookieless and does not use device fingerprinting, browser storage, or any identifier that would let us recognise you on a return visit or follow you to another website. What we see is aggregate counts, never an individual’s browsing history, and it is never combined with the email address you may have given us.
Our lawful basis is legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR) — understanding whether the database is actually useful to people. Because no cookie or similar technology is stored on your device, this does not require consent under PECR. If you would rather not be counted at all, any browser “do not track” setting or content blocker will prevent it, and nothing on the site stops working.
Cookies
This site sets no cookies of its own — not for analytics, advertising, or anything else. The signup and confirmation pages are hosted by Buttondown (see below) and may set cookies under their own policy once you leave this site.
Who processes data on our behalf
- Buttondown — email delivery and list management. Buttondown is based in the United States; the transfer relies on their standard contractual clauses.
- Vercel — hosting for this website, and the cookieless page-view analytics described above.
The firm database itself is hosted as a Google Sheet and contains no personal data about you — it’s corporate information (firm names, sectors, websites, and public corporate contact channels) derived from the Companies House register (Open Government Licence) and the FCA’s public Financial Services Register. See the site footer for the full attribution.
Legal basis for the firm database
The firm database contains no data about identifiable individuals. It’s built from public register information — company names, sectors, registered addresses, and incorporation dates from Companies House, and authorisation status from the FCA’s public Financial Services Register — enriched with each firm’s own publicly published contact channels: its website, careers page, and a role-based inbox such as careers@ or info@, never a named individual’s address.
We hold and republish this on the basis of our legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR) in operating a public directory of independently-verifiable business information that is already public via the Companies House and FCA registers. We’ve weighed this against the interests of the firms concerned by minimising what we hold — no data about named individuals, only a shared role-based inbox — and any firm can ask to be removed permanently at any time, with no reason required, using the firm removal form or by emailing michaelstylianou2@gmail.com.
How long we keep it
We keep your email address until you unsubscribe — every email includes an unsubscribe link — or ask us to remove it directly.
Your rights
- Access & erasure — email us at the address above and we’ll confirm what we hold or remove it, typically within a few days.
- Withdraw consent — unsubscribe at any time using the link in any email; this stops all future emails immediately.
- Complaint — contact us first, or lodge a complaint with your supervisory authority (in the UK, the ICO).
Changes
If this policy changes materially, we’ll update the date at the top of this page.