Privacy policy

Shout Network Limited
Company Number: 08024112
Units 1 & 2, Edward VII Quay, Navigation Way, Ashton-on-Ribble, Preston, PR2 2YF

Last updated: September 2026

Shout Network Limited ("Shout", "we", "us" or "our") is committed to protecting your personal information and respecting your privacy.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store and share personal information when you:

• visit our websites;
• make an enquiry;
• attend or register for one of our events;
• exhibit at one of our exhibitions;
• become a Shout Network member;
• book conference, meeting or event space;
• use our coworking or workspace facilities;
• purchase sponsorship, advertising or other services;
• communicate or do business with us; or
• otherwise interact with Shout.

It applies to services operated under Shout Network, Shout Expo, Shout Connect, Connect HQ and any other trading names operated by Shout Network Limited.

For the purposes of UK data protection law, Shout Network Limited is the data controller of the personal information covered by this Privacy Policy unless we specifically tell you otherwise.

Shout Network Limited
Company Number: 08024112

Trading Address:
Units 1 & 2, Edward VII Quay
Navigation Way
Ashton-on-Ribble
Preston
PR2 2YF
United Kingdom

Email for privacy enquiries:
privacy@shoutconnect.co.uk

Telephone:
01772 935930

If you have any questions about how we use your personal information or wish to exercise any of your data protection rights, please contact us using the details above.

The information we collect depends upon how you interact with us.

It may include:

• your name;
• job title;
• employer or organisation;
• business sector;
• postal address;
• email address;
• telephone/mobile number; and
• social media or professional profile information where relevant.

• services you have booked or purchased;
• event registrations;
• exhibition bookings;
• networking memberships;
• meeting and conference room bookings;
• coworking bookings;
• invoices and payment status;
• purchase order information; and
• correspondence relating to your booking.

We generally do not store full payment-card information ourselves where payment is processed by a third-party payment provider.

If you are a Shout Network member, we may record information including:

• your business and business category;
• networking group;
• membership start and renewal dates;
• attendance;
• apologies or absences;
• membership status;
• introductions or other relevant membership activity; and
• communications relating to your membership.

When you register for, attend or exhibit at an event, we may collect:

• registration details;
• business and job information;
• attendee type;
• events you have registered for or attended;
• exhibitor information;
• dietary or accessibility requirements where provided;
• attendance records;
• correspondence relating to the event;
• photographs or video footage; and
• information necessary for health, safety, security or safeguarding.

We may collect information concerning:

• room and workspace bookings;
• attendees and guests;
• access requirements;
• catering requirements;
• dietary or allergen information;
• equipment requirements; and
• communications relating to your booking.

We may record:

• your marketing preferences;
• your interactions with marketing communications where our systems provide this functionality;
• events or services in which you have expressed an interest;
• previous enquiries and purchases; and
• whether you have unsubscribed or objected to marketing.

When you use our website, we may collect information including:

• IP address;
• browser type;
• device type;
• operating system;
• pages visited;
• referral source;
• approximate geographical information derived from your connection;
• website interactions; and
• cookie and analytics information.

Please see our Cookie Policy for further information.

We may retain communications you have with us by email, telephone, forms, social media, WhatsApp or other communication channels where reasonably necessary for our business.

We do not obtain all personal information directly from the individual concerned.

We may receive information from:

• your employer or organisation;
• colleagues registering attendees on behalf of their organisation;
• event registration and ticketing platforms such as Eventbrite;
• online enquiry and booking forms;
• exhibition or event partners;
• networking members;
• public business websites;
• professional networking platforms;
• publicly available business directories;
• social media;
• suppliers and service providers;
• venues;
• public authorities where appropriate; and
• other legitimate business sources.

Where we obtain personal information from another source, we will handle it in accordance with applicable data protection law.

Where required, we will provide appropriate privacy information within the period required by law.

We only process personal information where we have a lawful reason for doing so.

Depending upon the circumstances, we may rely upon performance of a contract, legitimate interests, legal obligation, consent or, in limited circumstances, another lawful basis permitted by UK data protection law.

We use personal information to:

• process bookings;
• administer networking memberships;
• manage exhibition stands;
• manage visitor registrations;
• provide conference and meeting facilities;
• administer coworking arrangements;
• deliver sponsorship and advertising;
• provide customer support;
• issue invoices;
• collect payments; and
• communicate information necessary to provide a service.

Our lawful basis will normally be performance of a contract or taking steps at your request before entering into a contract.

Where the contract is with your employer or organisation rather than you personally, we will normally rely upon our legitimate interests in administering and fulfilling that business relationship.

We use information to organise and operate our exhibitions, networking meetings, conferences and other events.

This can include:

• sending joining instructions;
• communicating event timings;
• managing attendance;
• producing attendee or exhibitor information;
• providing name badges;
• administering event logistics;
• managing health and safety;
• managing exhibitors;
• communicating changes; and
• obtaining feedback.

We process this information because it is necessary to fulfil our contracts and/or because we have a legitimate interest in successfully and safely operating our events.

We process information for:

• accounting;
• financial management;
• record keeping;
• managing suppliers;
• preventing and recovering debts;
• handling complaints;
• defending or pursuing legal claims;
• fraud prevention;
• maintaining business records; and
• complying with our legal obligations.

Our lawful bases may include legal obligation and our legitimate interests in managing and protecting our business.

Where we rely upon legitimate interests, this means we have identified a genuine business or other legitimate reason for processing information and have considered the impact on the individuals concerned.

Our legitimate interests may include:

• operating and developing our business;
• providing effective customer service;
• administering business relationships;
• organising and promoting our events;
• managing our networking community;
• maintaining appropriate business records;
• understanding how customers use our services;
• improving our services;
• promoting relevant Shout services to business contacts;
• protecting our premises, systems, customers and staff;
• preventing fraud and misuse;
• recovering money owed to us; and
• establishing, exercising or defending legal claims.

We will not rely upon legitimate interests where our interests are overridden by your rights and freedoms.

We may contact existing customers, members, exhibitors, attendees, business contacts and people who have expressed an interest in our services about relevant:

• exhibitions;
• networking opportunities;
• business events;
• conference and meeting facilities;
• coworking;
• sponsorship;
• advertising;
• promotions; and
• other Shout services.

The lawful basis and electronic marketing rules that apply depend upon who we are contacting, how we obtained their details and the method of communication.

Where consent is legally required, we will obtain it before sending the relevant marketing.

In other circumstances, we may rely upon legitimate interests where permitted by law, including for appropriate business-to-business marketing.

Where the "soft opt-in" provisions of applicable electronic marketing law apply, we may send marketing concerning similar services to existing customers, provided the legal requirements are satisfied.

You can object to direct marketing at any time.

Every marketing email we send will provide an appropriate way to unsubscribe, or you can contact:

privacy@shoutconnect.co.uk

If you unsubscribe, we may retain limited information on a suppression list so that we can ensure we respect your preference and do not inadvertently add you back to our marketing database.

Unsubscribing from marketing will not prevent us from sending necessary communications relating to an existing booking, membership, invoice or service.

As a business-to-business organisation, Shout may identify businesses and relevant professional contacts who we reasonably believe may be interested in our exhibitions, networking, venue or other business services.

Information may come from publicly available sources such as:

• company websites;
• business directories;
• Companies House;
• professional networking platforms;
• event and exhibition websites;
• publicly available professional profiles; and
• other legitimate business sources.

Where the information identifies an individual, we will process it in accordance with applicable data protection and electronic marketing law.

Our lawful basis for appropriate B2B prospecting and business development will normally be our legitimate interests in developing our business and promoting relevant services, subject to the individual's rights and applicable electronic marketing rules.

Anyone receiving direct marketing from us may object at any time.

We use third-party systems to administer some registrations, enquiries and bookings.

These may include services such as Eventbrite for event registrations and other online form or booking providers.

Where you submit information through one of these services, the provider may process your information both on our behalf and, in some circumstances, for its own purposes.

You should also review the privacy information provided by the relevant platform.

Information submitted through these platforms may be transferred into Shout's own systems and customer relationship management records where necessary to administer your registration or business relationship.

Registering for a Shout event does not mean that your personal contact details will automatically be supplied to every exhibitor.

We will only share identifiable attendee information with exhibitors, sponsors or partners where we have an appropriate lawful basis to do so.

At some events you may choose to provide your details directly to an exhibitor, for example by:

• giving them a business card;
• scanning a badge or QR code;
• completing a competition or enquiry form; or
• otherwise asking the exhibitor to contact you.

Where you deliberately provide information directly to an exhibitor, that organisation will generally become independently responsible for how it subsequently uses your information.

You should refer to that organisation's own privacy information if you have questions about its use of your data.

Photography and video recording routinely take place at many Shout exhibitions, networking meetings and other events.

We may use photographs and footage for:

• reporting on an event;
• our websites;
• social media;
• future event promotion;
• brochures;
• advertising;
• press and public relations; and
• documenting Shout's activities.

Our lawful basis for general event photography will normally be our legitimate interests in documenting and promoting our events and business.

We will take reasonable steps to make attendees aware where official photography or filming is taking place.

If you do not wish to appear in identifiable promotional photography or video, please tell a member of the Shout team at the event. We will take reasonable steps to respect your request.

Where the nature of a photograph, recording or intended use means that consent or another specific lawful basis is required, we will obtain or establish the appropriate basis before using it.

Additional care will be taken in relation to photography involving children, young people and vulnerable individuals.

Some Shout events, particularly our apprenticeship, careers and educational events, are specifically intended to be attended by young people, including people under the age of 18.

We may therefore process limited personal information relating to young people where necessary to organise and safely deliver these events.

We recognise that children's personal information requires particular protection.

Where young people attend through a school, college, training provider, employer or similar organisation, registration information may be provided to us by that organisation.

We aim to collect only information reasonably necessary for the relevant event and will take additional care when handling information relating to children and young people.

We do not knowingly use children's personal information for unrelated direct marketing.

Where consent is required in relation to a child, we will take appropriate steps having regard to the child's age and the requirements of applicable law.

We do not routinely seek special category personal information.

However, you may sometimes provide information concerning matters such as:

• health conditions;
• disabilities;
• accessibility requirements;
• dietary requirements which reveal health or religious information; or
• safeguarding requirements.

We will only process such information where there is an appropriate lawful basis and, where required, an additional condition under UK data protection law.

We will use such information only for relevant purposes, such as making reasonable adjustments, meeting dietary requirements, protecting health and safety or fulfilling safeguarding responsibilities.

Please avoid providing sensitive information which we do not need.

Where CCTV is operated at our premises, images may be captured for purposes including:

• safety and security;
• protecting staff, visitors and property;
• preventing and detecting crime; and
• investigating incidents.

Our lawful basis will normally be our legitimate interests in maintaining safe and secure premises.

Appropriate signage will be displayed where CCTV is in operation.

CCTV recordings will only be retained for as long as reasonably necessary unless footage needs to be retained for the investigation of a particular incident, legal claim or other lawful purpose.

Where premises or events are operated at third-party venues, the venue may separately operate CCTV as an independent data controller.

We may share personal information where reasonably necessary with:

• IT, website and hosting providers;
• CRM and business software providers;
• event registration and ticketing platforms;
• online form providers;
• payment processors;
• accountants and professional advisers;
• email and communications providers;
• venues;
• caterers;
• photographers and videographers;
• event contractors;
• electrical and exhibition contractors;
• marketing and advertising service providers;
• cloud storage providers;
• insurers;
• debt recovery providers;
• legal advisers;
• public authorities and law enforcement agencies where legally required; and
• other suppliers necessary to provide our services.

Where another organisation processes personal information on our behalf, we require appropriate data protection arrangements where required by law.

We do not sell personal information to third parties.

We will not provide personal information to another organisation for its own unrelated marketing simply because you have attended a Shout event, unless we have an appropriate lawful basis to do so.

Where you make a payment through a third-party payment provider, your payment information may be processed directly by that provider.

Our payment providers may include services such as Stripe and GoCardless.

We do not ordinarily receive or store your complete payment-card details.

The relevant provider will process payment information in accordance with its own privacy policy and legal obligations.

We use cookies and similar technologies on our website.

Depending upon your choices and the technologies currently in use, these may help us:

• operate the website;
• remember preferences;
• understand website usage;
• measure advertising effectiveness;
• analyse visitor behaviour; and
• advertise Shout services.

We may use services provided by organisations such as Google and Meta for analytics, advertising or campaign measurement.

Non-essential cookies and similar technologies will only be used where permitted by applicable law.

More detailed information about the technologies currently used, their purposes and your choices should be provided in our Cookie Policy and cookie consent controls.

Shout operates accounts on social media platforms including LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube.

If you interact with us through these platforms, both Shout and the relevant platform may process information about that interaction.

The platform operator is responsible for its own processing of your information in accordance with its privacy policy.

Please remember that information posted publicly on social media may be visible to other users.

We do not keep personal information indefinitely.

Retention periods depend upon the nature of the information and why we hold it.

When deciding how long information should be retained, we consider:

• the purpose for which it was collected;
• whether we continue to have a business relationship with you;
• legal and regulatory requirements;
• accounting and taxation requirements;
• limitation periods for potential legal claims;
• contractual requirements;
• health and safety or safeguarding considerations; and
• whether the information remains necessary for legitimate business purposes.

As a general guide:

Financial, contractual and transactional records may normally be retained for up to six years after the end of the relevant financial year or business relationship, or longer where required by law or reasonably necessary in connection with a dispute or legal claim.

Event and booking records may be retained for up to six years where they form part of our contractual or financial records.

Marketing information will be retained while we reasonably consider there to be an appropriate relationship or legitimate marketing purpose, subject to periodic review and your right to object.

Suppression records may be retained for as long as necessary to ensure that we continue to respect an opt-out.

Enquiries which do not result in a booking will be reviewed periodically and deleted or anonymised when they are no longer reasonably required.

CCTV will normally be retained for a substantially shorter period unless required for an incident, investigation or legal claim.

Photography and video forming part of Shout's legitimate business, promotional or historical archive may be retained for longer while it remains relevant and lawful to do so.

We may securely anonymise information instead of deleting it where appropriate.

Some of our technology and service providers may store or process personal information outside the United Kingdom.

Where personal information is transferred outside the UK and the transfer is subject to UK data protection restrictions, we will ensure that an appropriate transfer mechanism is used.

Depending upon the circumstances, this may include:

• UK adequacy regulations;
• recognised contractual safeguards;
• the UK International Data Transfer Agreement;
• an approved UK Addendum to recognised contractual clauses; or
• another lawful transfer mechanism.

We will take reasonable steps to ensure that appropriate protection is maintained for personal information transferred internationally.

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal information against:

• unauthorised access;
• accidental loss;
• alteration;
• disclosure;
• destruction; and
• other unlawful processing.

Measures may include, where appropriate:

• access controls;
• password protection and authentication;
• secure cloud services;
• staff training;
• appropriate system permissions;
• software and device security;
• backups;
• supplier due diligence; and
• procedures for responding to personal data breaches.

Access to personal information is restricted to people who reasonably require it for their role.

No system can guarantee absolute security, but we regularly consider the measures appropriate to the nature of the information we process.

Depending upon the circumstances, UK data protection law gives you rights including:

You can ask whether we hold personal information about you and request a copy of that information.

You can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete personal information.

In certain circumstances, you can ask us to delete your personal information.

This right is not absolute and we may need to retain information where we have a lawful reason to do so.

In certain circumstances, you can ask us to restrict how we use your personal information.

In certain circumstances, you can request personal information you provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format.

You may object to processing based upon legitimate interests in certain circumstances.

You have an absolute right to object to the use of your personal information for direct marketing.

Where we rely upon your consent, you can withdraw that consent at any time.

Withdrawal does not make processing carried out before withdrawal unlawful.

You may have rights relating to certain solely automated decisions which have legal or similarly significant effects.

Shout does not currently make significant decisions about customers or attendees solely through automated processing.

To exercise a data protection right, contact:

privacy@shoutconnect.co.uk

or write to:

Shout Network Limited
Units 1 & 2, Edward VII Quay
Navigation Way
Ashton-on-Ribble
Preston
PR2 2YF

We may need to ask for information to confirm your identity before responding to a request.

There is normally no charge for exercising your data protection rights, although the law allows fees or refusal in certain limited circumstances.

We will respond within the timescales required by applicable data protection law.

If you have concerns about how we use your personal information, please contact us first and we will try to resolve the matter.

You also have the right to complain to the UK's independent data protection regulator:

Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)

Information about making a complaint and current ICO contact details can be found at www.ico.org.uk.

You may contact the ICO without contacting us first, although we would welcome the opportunity to resolve your concern directly.

Please let us know if personal information we hold about you changes or is inaccurate.

Networking members, exhibitors and other regular customers are particularly encouraged to keep their contact and business information up to date so that we can communicate important information effectively.

Our website may contain links to websites operated by third parties.

We are not responsible for the privacy practices of independent third-party websites.

We recommend reviewing the relevant privacy information when visiting another organisation's website or using its services.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect:

• changes in our services;
• changes in technology;
• changes to our suppliers;
• changes in how we process personal information; or
• changes in legal or regulatory requirements.

The latest version will be published on our website and the "Last updated" date will be amended accordingly.

Where a change is particularly significant, we may take additional reasonable steps to bring it to the attention of affected individuals.

Questions about this Privacy Policy or the way Shout Network Limited processes personal information should be directed to:

Shout Network Limited
Company Number: 08024112

Units 1 & 2, Edward VII Quay
Navigation Way
Ashton-on-Ribble
Preston
PR2 2YF
United Kingdom

Email: privacy@shoutconnect.co.uk
Telephone: 01772 935930

Website: www.shoutconnect.co.uk

Last updated: September 2026