Published 13 November 2026.
Owners sometimes hear from a buyer, a broker or a “data partner” before they have thought about licensing at all. The message can be flattering, urgent, or both. You are entitled to slow down. A serious buyer can wait while you take advice and read what you are being asked to sign.
McKays can give you a free first look at whether records like yours look like a fit, and we can introduce you to a vetted buyer if it does. Sellers pay nothing. We are not your solicitor, and we don’t review a contract as legal advice. How we’re paid.
What not to send
- Logins, passwords, VPN details or copies of the archive. A description is enough for a first conversation.
- A dump of customer or staff personal data, “just so they can see it”.
- Anything you would not be comfortable seeing forwarded on. Until there is a written confidentiality agreement you are happy with, keep the detail high-level.
An NDA is useful, and it is not permission to use your records to train a model. Scope and permitted uses belong in the actual agreement. See how licensing works and what to settle in a written licence.
Questions worth asking
- Who are they? A legal name, a jurisdiction, and someone whose job title you can check is more useful than a first name and a web form.
- Who do they act for? Are they the buyer, or an intermediary? If they are in the middle, who pays them, and is that written down? (If you deal with McKays, the answer is plain: the buyer pays our introduction fee, and confirms it in writing before we introduce you. You pay nothing.)
- What exactly is in scope? Years, systems, file types — and what is excluded.
- Is it exclusive? An exclusive licence can cut off other options. That may be fine, but it should be a conscious choice. See exclusive vs non-exclusive licences.
- What happens to personal and confidential information? Who prepares the copy, to what standard, and who pays. See preparing records.
- What happens to copies when the agreement ends? And can they share or resell what you provide?
- Are you free to do this at all? Client terms, professional rules, staff and customer data, and (if the company is in a formal procedure) the office-holder’s authority. See are you free to license these records?.
How we can help
Describe the records and, if you wish, the fact that you have already been approached. Please don’t paste the contract into the form, and please don’t send files. We’ll reply within a week. If it looks like a fit, and if a buyer confirms our introduction fee in writing, we introduce you directly. From there, NDAs, samples and files are between you and the buyer.
If you would rather start with a private check that sends nothing, use the fit check.
This page is general information, not legal advice. It isn’t a ruling on any case. Please speak to your own adviser about your situation.
Sellers pay nothing. The first look is free. How we’re paid.