Privacy Policy

Last updated: 2 October 2026

1. Who We Are

Sterling Bridge Finance is a trading name of Gem Master Group Ltd (“Sterling Bridge Finance”, “SBF”, “we”, “us” or “our”).

We provide finance brokerage, introduction and related services. Depending on the product or service requested, we may introduce customers to lenders, finance providers, brokers, insurers, intermediaries or other appropriate third-party partners.

Sterling Bridge Finance is not a lender. Unless expressly stated otherwise, finance is provided by third-party providers and is subject to their own eligibility criteria, terms and conditions.

For privacy and data-protection enquiries, you can contact us at:

Email: contact@sterlingbridgefinance.com
Website: sterlingbridgefinance.com

2. Information We May Collect

Depending on the nature of your enquiry, we may collect and process information including:

• your name, title and date of birth;

• telephone number, email address and postal address;

• information about your business, employment or trading activities;

• the type and amount of finance you require;

• the purpose of the finance;

• property ownership and property-related information where relevant;

• financial information necessary to understand or progress your enquiry;

• information concerning previous finance applications or declines where relevant;

• correspondence and communications between you and Sterling Bridge Finance;

• details of providers to whom your enquiry has been referred;

• referral dates, application progress and outcomes;

• information necessary to calculate or record commissions and referral payments;

• marketing and communication preferences;

• website and technical information, including information collected through cookies and similar technologies where applicable; and

• any other information you voluntarily provide which is reasonably necessary to deal with your enquiry.

We aim to collect only information that is reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose.

3. How We Use Your Information

We may use your personal information to:

• respond to and manage your enquiry;

• understand your finance or insurance requirements;

• identify potentially appropriate products, providers or routes;

• introduce or refer you to appropriate lenders, brokers, insurers, finance providers or other partners;

• communicate with you about your enquiry or application;

• assist with progressing an application or referral;

• maintain records of enquiries, referrals and outcomes;

• manage our relationships with customers and partners;

• administer commissions and referral payments;

• meet legal, regulatory, compliance and record-keeping obligations;

• prevent and detect fraud or misuse of our services;

• establish, exercise or defend legal claims;

• improve our services and customer experience; and

• where permitted, contact you about relevant Sterling Bridge Finance products, services and future funding opportunities.

Submitting an enquiry does not guarantee that finance, insurance or any other product will be available or approved.

4. Our Lawful Bases for Processing

Depending on the circumstances, we may process personal information because:

• it is necessary to take steps at your request before entering into a contract or to perform a contract;

• processing is necessary for our legitimate interests or those of another organisation, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and interests;

• processing is necessary to comply with a legal obligation; or

• you have given consent where consent is required.

Our legitimate interests may include operating and administering our brokerage and introduction services, maintaining appropriate customer and referral records, improving our services, protecting our business and, where legally permitted, communicating relevant information about similar Sterling Bridge Finance services.

Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal does not affect processing that was lawful before consent was withdrawn.

5. Sharing Your Information

Sterling Bridge Finance works with third-party organisations in order to provide its services.

Where appropriate to your enquiry, we may share relevant information with categories of recipients including:

• lenders and finance providers;

• credit brokers and finance intermediaries;

• insurance brokers, insurers and related providers;

• specialist finance providers;

• referral and distribution partners;

• professional advisers;

• technology, CRM, website, communications and data-storage providers;

• fraud-prevention, identity-verification and compliance service providers; and

• regulators, authorities, law-enforcement bodies or other organisations where disclosure is required or permitted by law.

We will not necessarily share your information with every organisation on our panel. Information should only be shared where reasonably relevant to providing, assessing or progressing the service you have requested or for another lawful purpose explained to you.

A provider receiving your information may become a separate data controller and may provide its own privacy notice explaining how it processes your information.

6. Referrals and Applications

When you submit an enquiry to Sterling Bridge Finance, we may assess the information you provide to determine an appropriate route for your requirements.

Where appropriate, we may refer or introduce your enquiry to one or more suitable third-party providers or intermediaries.

Following a referral, the third party may communicate directly with you and may request additional information or documentation.

Sterling Bridge Finance may retain an appropriate record of your original enquiry, the provider or partner to whom you were referred, the date of referral, the type and amount of finance requested, the outcome where known and other information reasonably necessary to manage our customer and partner relationships and meet our legal, regulatory and business obligations.

7. Keeping the Sterling Bridge Finance Customer Relationship

A referral to a third-party provider does not necessarily mean that Sterling Bridge Finance deletes its record of your enquiry.

We may retain appropriate information about your relationship with us so that we can:

• maintain accurate records;

• respond to future queries;

• understand previous enquiries and referrals;

• avoid unnecessarily asking you to provide the same basic information again;

• manage commissions and relationships with providers;

• meet legal and regulatory obligations; and

• where permitted by law and subject to your marketing preferences, inform you about relevant Sterling Bridge Finance services or future funding opportunities.

We will not retain personal information indefinitely simply because an enquiry was made.

8. Marketing and Future Communications

Communications required to respond to, administer or progress your enquiry are different from direct marketing.

Where permitted by applicable law, Sterling Bridge Finance may contact existing customers or people who have actively enquired about our services regarding our own similar and relevant products or services.

Where we rely on the applicable electronic-marketing “soft opt-in”, we will provide an opportunity to opt out when we collect your contact information and provide an opportunity to unsubscribe or opt out in subsequent marketing communications.

We will not rely on the soft opt-in to market unrelated third-party organisations' products or services.

You may tell us at any time that you do not wish to receive direct marketing from us. We will respect your preference and may retain limited suppression information to ensure that we do not contact you again for the marketing covered by your objection.

9. Website Enquiry Forms

Our enquiry forms may contain wording requiring you to confirm that you have read our Privacy Policy and understand how information relating to your enquiry may be processed and shared.

Our forms may also provide a separate opportunity to refuse future marketing communications.

Choosing not to receive marketing does not prevent you from submitting an enquiry or receiving communications reasonably necessary to deal with that enquiry.

10. How Long We Keep Your Information

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected and for legitimate legal, regulatory, contractual, accounting, fraud-prevention and dispute-resolution requirements.

Different categories of information may therefore have different retention periods.

When determining an appropriate retention period, we consider:

• the nature and sensitivity of the information;

• why the information was collected;

• whether we continue to have a legitimate need for it;

• legal or regulatory requirements;

• contractual requirements;

• limitation periods and potential disputes; and

• whether the information can instead be securely deleted or anonymised.

We will maintain an internal retention process and periodically review information that is no longer required.

11. Your Data Protection Rights

Depending on the circumstances and the lawful basis being relied upon, you may have rights including:

• the right to be informed about how your information is used;

• the right to request access to your personal information;

• the right to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information;

• the right to request erasure in certain circumstances;

• the right to request restriction of processing in certain circumstances;

• the right to data portability where applicable;

• the right to object to certain processing; and

• rights relating to certain automated decision-making where applicable.

You have the right to object to the use of your personal information for direct marketing at any time.

If you ask us to stop direct marketing, we will stop using your information for the marketing covered by your request.

12. Security

We take appropriate organisational and technical measures designed to protect personal information against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration or disclosure.

Access to personal information should be limited to those who reasonably require it for legitimate business purposes.

No internet or electronic-storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

13. International Transfers

Some technology or service providers used by Sterling Bridge Finance may process information outside the United Kingdom.

Where personal information is transferred internationally, we will take appropriate steps to ensure that the transfer is made in accordance with applicable UK data-protection requirements and that appropriate safeguards are used where required.

14. Cookies

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies for essential website functionality and, where applicable and permitted, analytics, preferences or other purposes.

Further information about the cookies used on our website and the choices available to visitors will be provided in our Cookie Policy and through our cookie-consent mechanism where required.

15. Third-Party Websites

Our website may contain links to third-party websites.

Sterling Bridge Finance is not responsible for the privacy practices of independent third-party websites. You should review the privacy information provided by the relevant organisation when providing personal information directly to it.

16. Complaints About Your Personal Information

If you have concerns about how Sterling Bridge Finance has handled your personal information, please contact us first so that we have an opportunity to investigate.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's data-protection regulator.

17. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to our services, business relationships, technology, legal requirements or regulatory guidance.

The latest version will be published on our website with its most recent update date.

18. Contact Us

For questions about this Privacy Policy, your personal information or your data-protection rights, contact:

Sterling Bridge Finance
Gem Master Group Ltd trading as Sterling Bridge Finance
Email: contact@sterlingbridgefinance.com
Website: sterlingbridgefinance.com