Terms of service

1. Definitions

In these Terms:

• “Site”: the FoodProspect website at www.foodprospect.co.uk and its subdomains.
• “Services”: all features provided by FoodProspect, including the web interface (observatory, email alerts, dashboard exports) and related subscription services.
• “Data”: information aggregated, structured and cleaned from official open-data sources (Companies House register and Food Hygiene Rating Scheme), plus editorial content on the Site.
• “Customer area”: the authenticated dashboard for account, purchases, subscriptions and downloads.
• “Subscription”: recurring access to live watch Services, billed monthly or yearly with no minimum term.
• “Live watch”: recurring subscription access to the dashboard (observatory, email alerts and full historical ZIP exports) under County, Sector or National plans. Email alerts cover recent activity within the last 90 rolling days (90 days). Exports and the observatory cover the full historical dataset within the subscribed scope while the subscription is active.
• “Legacy one-off purchase” (if any): a former one-off CSV/ZIP purchase made before Live watch became the sole public offer. Download access for such orders, where still available, is shown in the Customer area under legacy purchases.
• “Add-on”: additional scope (county or business type) billed on top of the base plan, as shown on Pricing.
• “Digital content”: any CSV, export or paid Data access supplied electronically.

2. Scope and B2B status

Services are intended exclusively for business customers (companies, partnerships, sole traders, charities carrying on commercial activity, etc.). The Customer confirms they are acting for business purposes and have authority to contract.

Consumer protection rules that apply only to consumers (including most Consumer Rights Act 2015 protections and consumer cancellation rights under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013) do not apply to business Customers, except where mandatory law requires otherwise.

3. Website use

These Terms govern access to and use of the Site and online Services. Service provider and hosting details are set out in our Legal notice. We may amend these Terms at any time; the published version applies from its effective date.

4. Account registration and security

Paid Services and the Customer area require an account. The Customer provides a valid email address, name and password. Credentials are personal and confidential.

The Customer is responsible for all activity under their account and must notify us immediately of suspected unauthorised access via Contact or contact@foodprospect.co.uk.

The Customer may delete their account at any time from Settings or by written request.

5. Acceptable use

The User must use the Site lawfully and in accordance with these Terms. Without limitation, the following are prohibited:

• use that harms third-party rights or the Provider's reputation;
• use of bots, scrapers or automated tools to extract Site content outside authorised exports;
• circumventing security measures or unauthorised access to systems;
• harvesting contact details for unsolicited marketing in breach of applicable law (including PECR and UK GDPR);
• reproducing or publishing Site content except for permitted internal business use.

We may suspend or terminate access without compensation in case of breach, without prejudice to other remedies.

6. Site management and third-party links

We may suspend or limit access for maintenance, updates or security. The Site may link to third-party websites; we are not responsible for their content or practices.

7. Products and services

FoodProspect sells Live watch subscriptions for UK food and hospitality B2B prospecting, combining Companies House company registrations and FHRS hygiene ratings.

Live watch subscriptions: recurring access to the observatory, configurable email alerts and unlimited full historical ZIP exports (establishments.csv and companies.csv) for the subscribed scope while the subscription is active. Plans are County (one or more counties), Sector (one or more business types across all 48 ceremonial counties of England) or National (full England coverage). Billed monthly or yearly (two months free on annual billing). No minimum term. Details and prices are on Pricing.

Email alerts focus on recent activity within the last 90 rolling days. The observatory and ZIP exports cover the full historical dataset within the subscribed scope, not limited to that window.

A free sample ZIP is available on Pricing so the Customer can verify file structure before purchase.

We are a technical aggregation and formatting service. We do not produce source data and are not affiliated with Companies House, the Food Standards Agency or local authorities.

8. Prices and VAT

All prices are stated in GBP exclusive of VAT. Sales tax and UK VAT are calculated and collected automatically at checkout by Stripe Managed Payments in accordance with applicable tax regulations. For UK businesses providing a valid GB VAT registration number, reverse charge mechanisms apply (0% VAT at checkout). If no valid VAT number is provided, standard UK VAT (20%) will be added to the final order summary before payment.

Subscription prices include a base plan and, where selected, add-ons shown in the Stripe checkout summary before payment. We may change prices. For active subscriptions, material price increases will be notified by email or via the Customer area at least 30 calendar days before they take effect. The Customer may cancel before the effective date; otherwise the new price applies from the next billing period.

9. Order and payment

Orders are placed online. The Customer selects an offer and is redirected to Stripe for secure payment. Payments, billing compliance, and applicable merchant-of-record tax settlements are processed securely through Stripe's certified global payments infrastructure (Stripe Payments UK Ltd / Stripe Managed Payments).

We do not collect or store raw card numbers. Payment is processed on Stripe's PCI-DSS certified infrastructure.

An order is confirmed only after Stripe confirms payment. We may refuse or cancel orders in case of suspected fraud, payment failure or breach of these Terms.

An invoice or receipt is available in the Customer area or by email as applicable.

10. Delivery and access to digital content

Live watch subscriptions: access is activated upon first successful payment and renews automatically each billing period until cancelled. While active, the Customer may export full historical ZIP files for the subscribed scope at any time from the dashboard and browse the observatory within that scope. Email alerts, when configured, cover recent activity within the last 90 rolling days (90 days).

Legacy one-off purchases (if shown in the Customer area): any remaining download access for orders placed under a former one-off offer follows the terms applicable at the time of that order. Download links, where provided, may expire after 7 days.

The Customer acknowledges that supply of digital content begins immediately after payment (download or first paid login).

11. No cancellation or refunds

Essential term — the Customer confirms they have read this before ordering.

Digital content is supplied electronically and not on a tangible medium. As a business Customer contracting for commercial purposes, the Customer expressly acknowledges that once the Customer accesses paid subscription features (observatory, exports, alerts), or downloads a full historical export or legacy one-off file from the Customer area, no refund, credit or chargeback will be granted for change of mind, mistaken purchase, tool incompatibility or non-use of the Data, subject only to mandatory rights that cannot be excluded by law.

The Customer expressly requests the immediate performance of the contract and waives any statutory right of withdrawal upon accessing the platform or initiating a download.

Connection logs, download timestamps and IP addresses recorded in the Customer area serve as conclusive electronic proof that digital content has been fully delivered.

The Customer had the opportunity to download a free sample on Pricing to verify file structure before purchase.

12. Data licence

Essential term — the Customer confirms they have read this before ordering.

Subject to full payment and compliance with these Terms, we grant the Customer a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, time-limited licence to use purchased or subscription Data.

This licence permits internal business use only (B2B prospecting, analysis, competitive intelligence) within the subscribed scope (county, sector or national).

The following are strictly prohibited without our prior written consent:

• reselling, sublicensing or commercialising the Data or CSV files;
• publishing, syndicating or making Data publicly available (websites, marketplaces, public directories, etc.);
• systematic extraction or reconstitution of Site databases beyond permitted internal use;
• distributing raw or substantially reconstituted files to third parties, partners or the Customer's clients;
• use infringing our database rights under the Copyright and Rights in Databases Regulations 1997.

Breach constitutes a serious default entitling us to terminate access immediately and pursue legal remedies.

For Live watch, the licence applies while the subscription is active and to ZIP files lawfully exported during that period for the Customer's internal use. The licence ends when the subscription expires. For legacy one-off purchases, the internal-use licence continues for files already acquired but does not grant redistribution rights.

13. Subscriptions: term, renewal and cancellation

Subscriptions have no minimum term and renew automatically each billing period until cancelled.

The Customer may cancel at any time via the Stripe billing portal in Billing. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current paid period. No partial refund is due for the remaining period.

We may terminate a subscription for material breach, including licence violation, without refund.

14. Limitation of liability

Essential term — the Customer confirms they have read this before ordering.

Data comes from third-party open sources (Companies House, FHRS). We aggregate and format data but do not control source publication. We do not guarantee accuracy, completeness, timeliness or absence of errors in hygiene ratings, company status or register fields.

The Customer is solely responsible for how they use the Data, verifying information with official sources where needed, and complying with applicable law (including UK GDPR, PECR and each open-data licence).

Services and Data are provided “as is” without express or implied warranties of performance, fitness for a particular purpose or commercial results.

Subject to the next paragraph, our total aggregate liability arising out of or in connection with these Terms or the Services is limited to the amounts actually paid by the Customer to us in the 12 months before the event giving rise to the claim.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability that cannot be excluded or limited under the laws of England and Wales. We shall not be liable for indirect or consequential loss, loss of profit, loss of opportunity, loss of data or business interruption.

15. Intellectual property

The Site, its structure, software, curated databases, documentation and editorial content remain our property or that of our licensors. No intellectual property rights are transferred beyond the limited licence in section 12.

FoodProspect branding may not be used without prior written consent.

16. Personal data

Processing of the Customer's personal data is described in our Privacy policy. The Customer remains responsible for their own prospecting activities and must comply with UK GDPR, PECR and applicable rules when using public register data.

17. Force majeure

We are not liable for failure or delay caused by events beyond our reasonable control, including network outages, major cyber incidents, unavailability of open-data sources, government action or natural disasters.

18. Complaints

Complaints should be sent to contact@foodprospect.co.uk or via Contact, stating the order reference and grounds. We aim to respond within a reasonable time.

19. Governing law and jurisdiction

These Terms and any dispute or claim arising out of them shall be governed by the laws of England and Wales.

The parties will attempt to resolve disputes amicably. Failing that, the courts of England and Wales shall have non-exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute, without prejudice to the Provider's right to commence proceedings in any other court of competent jurisdiction (including the courts of France), subject to mandatory consumer protections where applicable.

20. Changes to these Terms

We may amend these Terms at any time. Changes apply from publication on the Site. For active subscriptions, material adverse changes will be notified; the Customer may cancel before they take effect. Terms applying to an order are those in force at checkout unless the Customer accepts a later version.