Quotes, queries, decisions and fixes, as your staff wrote them.
OutlookMicrosoft 365Gmail
Your firm's working records could be worth £50k to £1.5m.
Research labs are paying large sums to license the anonymised emails and files of established UK and Canadian firms. We value yours, offer them across our network of labs and data partners, and negotiate the licence.
- No upfront commitment
- No cost to you
- You keep your originals
2 minutesto your estimate
1 dayuntil we call you
1 hourof your time, start to finish
What gets licensed
Research labs want the everyday record of how a business runs. Routine quotes, handovers, approvals and follow-ups matter to them as much as specialist work.
Chat and calls
Team chats and recorded calls where problems get talked through.
TeamsSlackCall recordings
Files
Contracts, reports, procedures and spreadsheets, with their earlier versions.
SharePointGoogle DriveShared servers
Drawings and CAD
Drawings, models and specifications, with every revision and the comments on them.
AutoCADRevitSolidWorks
Finance
Invoices, reconciliations and approvals, and the notes that explain them.
XeroSageQuickBooks
Customers and jobs
Every enquiry, job and ticket, from first contact to sign-off.
SalesforceHubSpotJob systems
What firms like yours have been paid
£490k
Freight broker, 100 staff
Rate quotes, shipment documents, dispatch records, delivery exceptions and claims.
£340k
Engineering firm, 70 staff
CAD drawings, calculations, technical reports and specifications.
£340k
Roofing contractor
Operating records, licensed exclusively.
£260k
Accountancy firm, 60 staff
Five years of workpapers, reconciliations, financial models and tax files.
£230k
General contractor
Operating records, licensed exclusively.
£83k
Marketing agency
Operating records, licensed exclusively.
Closed deals by US licensing firms in 2026.
How it works
-
01
Get your estimate
Answer a few questions about your firm and its records. You see an estimate straight away, and we check your firm qualifies.
-
02
Valuation call
A 30-minute call about which systems you've used and for how long. We firm up the range before anyone sees a file.
-
03
Written offers
We describe your records across our network of research labs and data partners without naming your firm, and collect written offers covering fee, scope, term, exclusivity and payment dates.
-
04
Export and de-identification
The licensee, or its specialist partner, exports the records using temporary access you give them, replaces names and contact details, and leaves out anything privileged or sensitive. You approve a sample first.
-
05
Payment
You're paid on the dates set in your licence, and your business carries on as before.
Every offer, compared for you
We take your records across our network of research labs and data partners and set their offers side by side. We negotiate price, scope and exclusivity and suggest a deal. The decision is yours.
Offers for a 120-person freight forwarder with 9 years of records
Example| Licensee | Fee | Scope | Term | Exclusive | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Licensee AResearch lab | £410,000 | Email and files | 3 years | No | Half on signing, half on delivery |
| Licensee BLogistics software company | £520,000 | Email, files and job records | Perpetual | For 2 years | On delivery |
| Licensee CTraining data supplier | £365,000 | Email only | 2 years | No | 30 days after delivery |
| Licensee DResearch labOur suggested deal | £480,000 | Email, files and job records | 3 years | No | 60% on signing, 40% on delivery |
Privacy-preserving de-identification
Before anything is delivered, every name, contact detail and reference number is replaced with a placeholder. Privileged and sensitive material is left out entirely, and you approve a sample first.
- Replaced
- Names, email addresses, phone numbers, addresses, references and account numbers.
- Excluded
- Privileged and client-confidential material, personnel and health records, and anything else you choose to hold back.
- Kept
- The problem, the reasoning and how it was solved.
FromPriya Natarajan[Staff_04] <priya.natarajan@kestrelforwarding.co.uk[Email_217]>
ToGareth Lowe[Contact_112] <gareth@loweanddaughters.co.uk[Email_118]>
SubjectShipment KF-7731[Job_0412] held at Dover
Gareth[Contact_112],
HMRC have held both pallets at Dover. The invoice classes the brackets under 7326 (iron or steel) but your spec sheet says cast aluminium, so they want 7616. The duty difference is small, but they won't release until the entry is amended.
I've asked the haulier, Mark Bevan[Contact_57] at Ridgeway Transport[Haulier_19] (07700 900583[Phone_33]), to wait at Sevington rather than return to the yard. If you can confirm the material by 2pm I'll amend the entry and we should clear today. Your EORI GB 1234 5678 9000[EORI_08] is on file.
Priya[Staff_04]
Kestrel Forwarding[Firm_01], Unit 4, Whitfield Business Park, CT16 3QW[Address_26]
Example email. The people and companies are fictional.
Does your firm qualify?
- 20 or more staffEmployed by the firm today.
- 3 or more years of recordsEmail and files you still hold, in any system.
- Based in the UK or CanadaWorking mainly in English.
- Still tradingClosing the company? See wind-downs.
Get an estimate for your sector
Choose your sector to start the 2-minute valuation.
FAQs
Who licenses the data?
Research labs, companies building software for particular industries, and the firms that supply training data to both. They use it to train and test models on real work. The permitted uses, term and exclusivity are written into the licence you approve.
What does it cost me?
Nothing. The licensee pays our fee when a licence completes. If there's no deal, there's no fee.
Do I lose my data?
No. In most deals you license a de-identified copy and keep your originals. Whether the licence is exclusive, and for how long, is your choice.
Will my clients or staff be identifiable?
Names, contact details, account numbers and references are replaced before delivery, privileged and client-confidential material is left out, and you approve a sample before you sign.
Is there demand for UK and Canadian firms?
Yes, records from both are sought after. Labs want English-language records from established businesses, and most firms licensing so far have been in the US.
How much of my time will it take?
About an hour in total: the form, one call, reading the offers and signing. The licensee handles the export. You just give them temporary access to your email and file accounts.
What if I don't know what data we have?
Most owners don't. Tell us which systems you've used over the years and we'll work out what's there on the call.
Why now?
Firms like yours are licensing their records now. Once labs have enough data from a sector, offers for the next firm can drop or dry up. The value also depends on history you still hold, and archives are often deleted when subscriptions lapse.
For wind-downs
Records are an overlooked asset when a company closes
Directors winding down, administrators and liquidators can still license a company's email, files and ledgers. Call us before the subscriptions lapse, as the value depends on that history.
See what your records are worth
Two minutes, no upfront commitment.