Privacy Policy

The short version

This website collects almost nothing. It sets no tracking cookies, runs no analytics, and carries no advertising pixels. The only personal data it handles is what you choose to send us through the contact form, plus the standard server logs every website generates.

AH Equity Partners is a privately held firm. It treats the privacy of the people who write to it the way it treats its own: as policy, not courtesy.

Separately, if a relationship progresses, we may, only with your express permission, carry out research and background checks and share information with third parties and credit reference agencies, as described in the section Research, background checks, and credit reference agencies below.

Who is responsible for your data

AH Equity Partners, 1177 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10036, United States, operates this website and is responsible for the data described in this policy. You can reach the firm about anything in this policy at info@ahequitypartners.com.

What we collect, exactly

Two categories of data, and only two:

• Contact-form submissions. If you use the inquiry form or write to us by email, we receive what you send: your name, your email address, an optional company name, the inquiry type you select, and your message. We receive it because you sent it; nothing is collected silently alongside it.
• Server logs. The infrastructure that serves this site records standard technical logs, such as the IP address of a request, the page requested, the time, and the browser's user-agent string. These logs exist for security and reliability, are kept by our hosting provider for a limited period in the ordinary course, and are not used to profile visitors.

What we do not do

Plainly:

• We set no tracking or advertising cookies today.
• We run no third-party analytics scripts and no social-media pixels.
• We do not sell, rent, or trade personal data to anyone.
• We do not build marketing profiles of visitors.
• We do not send newsletters or marketing email; if you write to us, you hear back from a person.

How we use what you send

Contact-form submissions are used for one purpose: to read your message and respond to it. Submissions are delivered to the firm's inbox. If email delivery is configured, the form's contents pass through our email delivery provider solely to reach us; that provider processes the message as a mail carrier does, not as a marketer.

If you write to us as a business owner about a potential sale, we treat the contents of your message with care, and as a matter of practice we keep the acquisition conversations we take forward in confidence. Sending a message does not by itself create a confidential or contractual relationship, so please do not send confidential documents at first contact.

Research, background checks, and credit reference agencies

AH Equity Partners acquires and holds businesses, and in the course of that work we correspond with business owners, sellers, partners, and other counterparties. This section explains, openly and in depth, how and when we may carry out research and background checks on an individual or counterparty, who we may share information with, and the rights you have. It is written to be accurate on both sides of the Atlantic: it covers our position under United States law (including the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act and applicable state laws) and under United Kingdom and European Union data protection law (the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, and the EU GDPR). AH Equity Partners is based in the United States, and this notice is governed by the law of the State of New York.

The most important point first. Nothing happens at first contact. We do not run background checks on people who simply get in touch with us. Research and background checks are considered only once a conversation has reached an appropriate stage, a relationship or possible dealing is genuinely progressing, and relevant information has actually been collected. Even then, we carry out research proportionately, and we share your information with third parties, credit reference agencies, or consumer reporting agencies only with your express permission, which we ask for separately and in writing at the appropriate stage. The contact form, and general correspondence with us, authorize none of this.

What may be checked. Depending on the stage and nature of the dealing, and always limited to what is necessary and proportionate, the information involved may include: identity and contact details; business, ownership, and role information; financial standing and creditworthiness; and, where you have given permission, references and information from public and official records. We use this information only to verify identity and standing, to assess suitability and risk, to protect the firm and its counterparties, to prevent fraud and financial crime, and to meet our legal, regulatory, and anti-money-laundering obligations. We do not use it for unrelated purposes.

The express permission gate. Where we ask for your express permission (for example, before obtaining a consumer or credit report or before sharing your information with a credit reference agency), that permission is given by a clear, separate, affirmative act, never by a pre-ticked box and never bundled into general contact. It is specific and informed: we tell you what will be done and who will receive the information. It is not a precondition of talking to us, and you can withdraw it at any time, as easily as you gave it, by contacting us at legal@ahequitypartners.com. Withdrawing permission takes effect going forward and does not undo research that was already lawfully completed before you withdrew.

Our position under United States law (FCRA and state law). If we obtain a consumer report, background report, or credit report on an individual from a consumer reporting agency, we do so only for a permissible purpose under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, relying on your written instructions and express consent. Before any such report is obtained, we will provide a separate, standalone written disclosure and obtain your signed written authorization. We certify the permissible purpose to the reporting agency and confirm the report will not be used for any other purpose. If a background check would involve personal interviews about your character, general reputation, personal characteristics, or mode of living (an investigative consumer report), we will tell you in writing, you may request disclosure of the nature and scope of that investigation, and you will receive a written summary of your rights under the FCRA. If we ever decline or discontinue a dealing based in whole or in part on a consumer report, we will give you the required adverse action notice, including the reporting agency's name, address, and telephone number, a statement that the agency did not make the decision, and notice of your right to a free copy of the report and to dispute its accuracy or completeness with the agency. Where state laws apply, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act as amended (with its rights to know, access, delete, correct, and limit the use of sensitive personal information, subject to the FCRA related exemption where information is used as a consumer report) and New York's consumer reporting and data security protections, we honor the corresponding notices and rights.

Our position under UK and EU law (UK GDPR, DPA 2018, and EU GDPR). We are honest about our lawful basis, because the two activities are different. Internal research and background checks, where we carry them out, are conducted where necessary and proportionate on the basis of our legitimate interests (for example, assessing a counterparty, protecting the firm, and preventing fraud), and, where applicable, to meet a legal obligation. Separately, any sharing of your information with third parties and with credit reference or consumer reporting agencies is done only on the basis of your consent, which is your express permission, freely given, specific, informed, and withdrawable. Where we share your information with a UK credit reference agency, that agency is an independent controller that also acts as a fraud prevention agency and may use and share the information for its own purposes; the agency's own use, sharing, retention, and your rights are described in its Credit Reference Agency Information Notice (CRAIN), and we will point you to the relevant notice (for example, the Experian or TransUnion CRAIN pages). Background research may incidentally involve special category or criminal offence information; we process such information only where a specific lawful condition applies, and we maintain an appropriate policy document governing it. You have the rights available under data protection law, including the rights of access, rectification, erasure, restriction, objection (including objection to legitimate interests processing), data portability where applicable, withdrawal of consent, rights in relation to any automated decision-making or profiling, and the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office in the UK or your relevant supervisory authority in the EU.

Who your information may be shared with. Only with your express permission, and limited to what is necessary, your information may be shared with: professional advisers (such as legal, financial, and due diligence advisers); background screening and verification providers; credit reference and consumer reporting agencies (such as Experian and TransUnion, which, in the United Kingdom, also act as fraud prevention agencies); and relevant government agencies where applicable. Some of these recipients act as independent controllers and may use and further share the information for their own purposes as the law allows.

International transfers. AH Equity Partners is based in the United States. Where you are in the United Kingdom or the European Union, your personal data will be transferred to and processed in the United States, and potentially in other places where the firm operates. We make such transfers under an appropriate safeguard, such as the UK International Data Transfer Agreement, the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, or the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, or under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and its UK Extension where applicable. Further detail on the safeguard we use is available on request.

Retention. We keep information only for as long as necessary for the purposes described here and to meet our legal and regulatory obligations, after which it is securely deleted or disposed of. We apply defined retention periods rather than keeping information open-endedly, and we use appropriate security to protect it.

How to exercise your rights or withdraw permission. To withdraw permission, ask a question, or exercise any of the rights described above, contact us at legal@ahequitypartners.com. We will respond within the timeframes the law requires.

A note on this section. This information is provided for transparency and is not legal advice. AH Equity Partners implements its research, consent, and adverse action processes under the guidance of its own qualified counsel. You should feel free to take your own independent legal advice before providing information or giving permission.

• Nothing happens at first contact: research and checks are considered only once a dealing is genuinely progressing and information has been collected.
• Sharing with third parties, credit reference agencies, and consumer reporting agencies happens only with your express, separate, written permission, which you can withdraw at any time.
• What may be checked, only as necessary and proportionate: identity and contact details; business, ownership, and role information; financial standing and creditworthiness; and, where permitted, references and public or official records.
• United States (FCRA): before any consumer or credit report we give a separate standalone disclosure and obtain signed authorization, rely on a permissible purpose, and, if a decision is based on a report, provide an adverse action notice with your right to a free copy and to dispute it.
• Investigative consumer reports (interviews about character or reputation) trigger extra US notices: written notice, the right to learn the nature and scope of the investigation, and a written summary of your FCRA rights.
• United Kingdom and EU (UK GDPR, DPA 2018, EU GDPR): internal checks rely on legitimate interests where lawful; sharing with third parties and credit reference agencies relies on your consent; special category and criminal offence data are handled only where a specific lawful condition applies.
• UK credit reference agencies are independent controllers and also act as fraud prevention agencies; their use of your data is described in the Credit Reference Agency Information Notice (CRAIN), to which we will direct you.
• Recipients may include professional advisers, background screening and verification providers, credit reference or consumer reporting agencies (such as Experian and TransUnion), and relevant government agencies where applicable.
• As a US firm we receive UK and EU personal data under appropriate safeguards such as the UK IDTA, the UK Addendum to the EU SCCs, or the EU SCCs, or the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and its UK Extension where applicable.
• We keep information only as long as necessary and then securely delete it, and you can withdraw permission or exercise your data rights at any time by contacting legal@ahequitypartners.com.
• This section is general information, not legal advice; please take your own independent legal advice before providing information or giving permission.

How long we keep it

Correspondence is kept for as long as the conversation, and any relationship that follows from it, makes necessary. If you ask us to delete your correspondence and no legal obligation requires keeping it, we will delete it.

If we ever add analytics

The firm may one day add basic, privacy-respecting analytics to understand how the site is read. If that happens, this policy and the cookie policy will be updated first, before anything is deployed. Any consent banner or notice that the law requires will appear at the same time. Until this page says otherwise, there are no analytics on this site.

Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have legal rights over your personal data, including the right to know what we hold, to correct it, and to have it deleted. Exercising them here is simple because we hold so little: write to info@ahequitypartners.com and tell us what you want to know or want removed, and we will answer.

Governing law and changes

This policy is governed by the laws of the State of New York. The firm may revise it from time to time; the date at the top of this page shows when it was last updated. A material change to what the site collects will always appear in this policy before the change takes effect.

Contact

Questions about privacy can be sent to info@ahequitypartners.com, or by post to AH Equity Partners, 1177 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10036, United States.