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Licensing company records in the UK.
McKays introduces UK businesses to vetted buyers of digital records, typically AI teams. You pay nothing. We do not pass your contact details to a buyer until that buyer has confirmed our introduction fee in writing. You and the buyer then agree terms, NDAs, samples and file transfer directly.
Published 14 November 2026.
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.
This page is the UK landing point for that process. It does not change the model already set out on how we’re paid and how licensing works. We also work with businesses in the Republic of Ireland; see licensing records from Ireland.
What McKays does, and what it does not
We introduce a record owner and a vetted buyer. Sellers pay no fees to McKays at any stage. The buyer pays our introduction fee, and confirms that fee in writing before we make the introduction. After that, NDAs, samples, preparation and file transfer are agreed between the buyer and the owner. McKays does not take your files, run a clean-up on your systems, host a data room, or buy an agreed copy of the archive.
We deal with digital records only, and only with someone who has authority to deal with them.
When we pass contact details
An enquiry to McKays is not a broadcast. We do not send your company or contact details to a list of buyers when you first get in touch, and we do not name a set of buyers to you on the back of an unconfirmed application. We only introduce you, and only pass the contact details needed for that introduction, after the buyer has confirmed our introduction fee in writing.
That is slower than an instant pass-on, and it is intentional. You should not be put in front of a buyer until the fee is agreed. We also cannot honestly promise to name buyers within a few hours, because we are not forwarding your details at the point you enquire.
What happens after you enquire
- You describe the records. A short outline is enough. Please don’t send files, logins or passwords. The first look is free, and an enquiry doesn’t commit you to anything.
- We tell you if it looks like a fit. You’ll hear back within a week. If it isn’t a fit, we’ll say so. While you wait, you can use the private fit check (it stays in your browser and is not a valuation), read how we’re paid, and look at the owner guides.
- The buyer confirms our introduction fee in writing. We don’t publish a figure, and we don’t introduce anyone until that confirmation is in place.
- We make the introduction. You and the buyer then deal directly on terms, confidentiality, samples and files.
We can’t promise a buyer, a price, a completed deal, or a timescale to payment. If you have a hard deadline, such as a server being switched off, tell us and we’ll work to it as far as we can.
UK data protection
Business records are full of people. In the UK, the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 apply when an organisation processes personal data. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the UK regulator. McKays is registered with the ICO, number ZB473702. Registration is a legal requirement, not a certification of our service.
The ICO’s guidance is the starting point for most owners. Personal data is information that relates to an identified or identifiable individual, and information can still identify someone when it is combined with other details. If information is effectively anonymised, so that the risk of identifying someone is sufficiently remote, it may no longer be personal data. That is a factual judgement, not a label you can apply by stripping out a column of names. The ICO’s anonymisation guidance, published on 28 March 2025, is under review because of changes made by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025.
McKays does not take your files or carry out that preparation for you. How personal and confidential information is handled is agreed, in writing, between you and the buyer before anything leaves. A fuller outline, with links to the ICO’s own guides, is in UK data protection and licensing business records. See also preparing records and re-identification and UK law.
Who can sign
Only someone with authority over the records can agree to sell or license them. For a trading company that is usually the directors, acting for the company. In liquidation, administration or receivership it is usually the appointed office-holder, within the limits of their appointment. After dissolution, former directors usually cannot deal with the company’s assets, which typically pass to the Crown. These are the usual positions under UK company and insolvency law, not a ruling on any case. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own rules in places.
The full table, and what we check in each situation, is on trust and rights. Procedure guides: liquidation, administration, receivership and dissolved companies. There is also a guide to digital records when a company closes.
What UK firms usually hold
The records buyers tend to care about are everyday working files that show how work got done: quotes, emails, drawings, job files, tickets, chats and the links between them. We already publish pages for CAD and engineering files, email, job and project files, law firms and accountants, among others. None of those pages is a stock list, and none of them is a valuation.
There is no McKays price list for a business archive. Published third-party figures, with caveats, are on market evidence. Those are not McKays deals.
Questions
Do I pay McKays?
No. Sellers pay nothing. Our introduction fee is paid by the buyer, and the buyer confirms it in writing before we introduce you.
When do you pass my contact details to a buyer?
We don’t. We only introduce you, and only pass contact details, after the buyer has confirmed our introduction fee in writing. An enquiry does not send your details to a list of buyers. How we’re paid.
How soon will I hear back?
You’ll hear back within a week. While you wait, you can use the private fit check (it stays in your browser and is not a valuation), read how we’re paid, and look at the owner guides.
Is this legal advice?
No. This page is general information. It isn’t a ruling on any case. Please speak to your own adviser about your situation, and have them review any agreement before you sign.
Do you only work in the UK?
We work with businesses in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. This page is the UK outline. For Ireland, see licensing records from Ireland.
Will you export, host or de-identify my records?
No. We don’t take your files, run a clean-up on your systems, or host a data room. Preparation and file transfer, if a deal goes ahead, are agreed between you and the buyer.
You can also read the guides, the FAQ, and how licensing works. If you’d like a first look, describe your records or email [email protected].
Sellers pay nothing. The first look is free. How we’re paid.