Terms & Conditions

1. About These Terms

These Terms and Conditions ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the website at theaalgroup.com, including its public pages, publications, reports, search tools, contact and access-request forms, and any restricted areas made available through the AAL Client Portal (together, the "Website").

By using the Website, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, you should not use the Website. These Terms apply only to use of the Website. Any professional engagement, subscription, report licence, confidentiality arrangement or other service provided by AAL may be subject to a separate written agreement, which will take priority to the extent of any inconsistency.

2. About Ascendancy Advisors Limited

Ascendancy Advisors Limited ("AAL", "we", "us" or "our") is a company incorporated in England and Wales under company number 15179861. Our registered office is Suite RA01, 195–197 Wood Street, London E17 3NU, United Kingdom.

AAL operates as an independent strategic advisory and corporate consulting firm. Further information about our operating and regulatory position is set out on our Compliance page.

3. No Client Relationship

Use of the Website, downloading or reading a report, using Ask AAL, submitting an enquiry, requesting portal access or communicating with AAL through the Website does not by itself create a client, fiduciary, agency, advisory or other professional relationship.

A professional engagement begins only when AAL and the relevant client have entered into a written engagement letter, mandate, subscription arrangement or other agreement expressly accepted by AAL.

4. Website Information and Regulatory Position

The Website is provided for general informational and business-reference purposes. Its content does not constitute legal, tax, accounting, financial, investment or other regulated professional advice, and it must not be treated as a recommendation, offer or solicitation to acquire, dispose of, arrange, issue, place, finance or transact in any security, financial instrument, investment or regulated product.

AAL does not provide regulated investment advice, act as a broker-dealer, manage client assets, execute trades, receive client money, solicit investments or operate as a regulated financial intermediary. AAL does not hold regulatory permissions authorising it to carry on regulated activities under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 or equivalent legislation in another jurisdiction.

Visitors and clients remain responsible for obtaining advice from appropriately authorised legal, tax, financial, investment, accounting or other professional advisers before making a decision or entering into a transaction.

5. Engagements, Mandates and Communications

Descriptions of AAL services, experience, representative matters or areas of capability are illustrative only. They do not constitute a promise that AAL will accept a proposed mandate, that a particular service is available in every jurisdiction, or that any transaction, financing, investigation or commercial objective will proceed or succeed.

AAL may carry out conflict checks, identity verification, sanctions screening, counterparty review and other onboarding procedures before accepting an engagement or granting access to restricted materials. We may decline an enquiry or proposed mandate without providing a reason.

No email, message, discussion, draft, website submission or other preliminary communication is binding on AAL unless and until it is incorporated into a written agreement signed or expressly accepted by an authorised representative of AAL.

6. Reports, Publications and Ask AAL

AAL reports, articles, briefings, case notes and other publications may draw on public records, third-party sources, market information, professional judgement and information available as at a stated date. Such material may be time-sensitive, incomplete or subsequently superseded. Unless expressly stated otherwise, AAL is not obliged to update a publication after release.

Ask AAL is a search function for public Website content only. Search results are generated from the public site index, do not search restricted Client Portal materials, and do not constitute personalised advice or a mandate-specific response.

Any subscription, paid report, restricted report or licensed publication may be subject to additional terms governing access, permitted use, confidentiality, copying and distribution. Those additional terms prevail in relation to the relevant material.

7. Client Portal and Restricted Areas

Access to the Client Portal and other restricted areas is limited to persons authorised by AAL. An access request does not create a right of access and may be accepted, refused, suspended or withdrawn at AAL's discretion, subject to any applicable written agreement.

Authorised users must keep login credentials confidential, must not share access with another person and must notify AAL promptly if they suspect unauthorised use or a security breach. You are responsible for activity carried out through credentials issued to you, except to the extent caused by AAL's own breach of duty.

Portal content may be confidential, legally privileged, commercially sensitive or restricted to a particular client, mandate or recipient. It must not be copied, forwarded, disclosed, downloaded in bulk or used outside the purpose for which access was granted unless AAL has given written permission or the applicable agreement expressly allows it.

8. Permitted Use

You may access and use the public Website for lawful personal or internal business purposes. You may download or print limited extracts for your own reference, provided that you:

• do not alter the meaning, context or presentation of the material;
• retain any copyright, confidentiality and attribution notices;
• do not imply that AAL endorses you, your organisation, a transaction, product or service; and
• comply with any additional restrictions stated on the relevant page, report or document.

Fair and accurate linking to public AAL pages is permitted, provided the link does not misrepresent the relationship with AAL or suggest approval, sponsorship or endorsement. Use of AAL's name, logo or branding beyond ordinary textual attribution requires prior written permission.

9. Prohibited Use

You must not:

• use the Website for any unlawful, fraudulent, deceptive, defamatory or abusive purpose;
• misrepresent your identity, authority, affiliation, ownership, credentials or purpose when contacting AAL or requesting access;
• attempt to gain unauthorised access to the Client Portal, another user's account, restricted files, servers, databases or security controls;
• introduce malware, malicious code, automated attacks or any technology intended to disrupt, damage, probe or compromise the Website;
• scrape, harvest, crawl, extract or reproduce Website content at scale without AAL's prior written permission, except for ordinary indexing by legitimate search engines in accordance with published technical controls;
• remove or obscure copyright, attribution, confidentiality or proprietary notices;
• republish, sell, sublicense, commercially exploit or systematically distribute AAL content without permission;
• use AAL content, reports, branding or communications to support a false claim, misleading promotion, unauthorised fundraising, financial solicitation or purported transaction approval; or
• use the Website in a way that infringes the rights of AAL or any third party.

10. Intellectual Property

Unless otherwise stated, the Website and its content—including text, reports, graphics, logos, page design, databases, search indexes, downloadable materials and other original content—are owned by or licensed to AAL and are protected by applicable intellectual-property laws.

No ownership right is transferred to you. Any permission granted under these Terms is limited, revocable, non-exclusive and non-transferable. All rights not expressly granted are reserved.

11. Information Submitted to AAL

You are responsible for ensuring that information submitted through the Website is accurate, lawful and provided with appropriate authority. You must not submit information that infringes another person's rights or that you are prohibited from disclosing.

Do not send highly sensitive, privileged or transaction-critical material through a public form unless AAL has requested it or an appropriate secure channel and confidentiality framework have been agreed. Submission of information does not oblige AAL to review it, retain it, act on it or accept a mandate.

Personal information submitted through the Website is handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

12. Privacy and Cookies

Our collection and use of personal information are described in our Privacy Policy. Our use of cookies, local storage, analytics and similar technologies is described in our Cookie Policy.

Essential technologies may operate where necessary for Website functionality and security. Non-essential analytics technologies are controlled in accordance with the choices made through the Website's consent mechanism and applicable law.

13. Third-Party Links and Services

The Website may contain links to, or embedded content from, third-party websites and services, including external publications, social-media platforms, analytics providers, payment providers and review platforms. A link or embedded service does not imply that AAL endorses, controls or accepts responsibility for that third party.

Third-party websites and services are governed by their own terms, privacy notices and security practices. You access and use them at your own discretion and risk.

14. Website Availability and Security

We may change, suspend, restrict or withdraw any part of the Website for maintenance, security, legal, operational or business reasons. We do not guarantee that the Website, the Client Portal or any particular content will always be available, uninterrupted, error-free or compatible with every device or browser.

Although AAL applies reasonable technical and organisational measures, no website or method of electronic transmission can be guaranteed to be completely secure or free from harmful code. You are responsible for using appropriate security controls, backups and virus protection when accessing or downloading material from the Website.

15. Accuracy, Currency and Reliance

AAL takes reasonable care in preparing public Website content, but does not warrant that all content is complete, current or free from error. Public records, laws, regulations, sanctions measures, corporate information, market conditions and third-party data may change without notice.

You must independently verify information material to a legal, financial, commercial, compliance or transaction decision. No Website content should be relied on as the sole basis for acting or refraining from acting.

16. Limitation of Liability

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 lawfully be excluded or limited.

Subject to the preceding paragraph, and to the fullest extent permitted by law, AAL shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special or consequential loss, or for loss of profit, revenue, business, opportunity, anticipated savings, goodwill or data, arising from or connected with:

• use of, inability to use or reliance on the Website or public content;
• temporary or permanent unavailability of the Website;
• third-party websites, services, content or conduct; or
• unauthorised access, malware or other events outside AAL's reasonable control.

Any liability arising from professional services, a subscription, a report licence or a client engagement is governed by the applicable written agreement rather than this Website-use limitation.

Nothing in these Terms affects any statutory right that cannot lawfully be excluded or restricted.

17. Suspension and Termination

AAL may block, suspend or terminate access to the Website, the Client Portal or restricted content where we reasonably believe that these Terms, an applicable agreement, a legal requirement or a security control has been breached, or where continued access may expose AAL, a client or another person to risk.

Clauses concerning intellectual property, confidentiality, disclaimers, liability, governing law and any provision intended by its nature to continue will survive termination of access.

18. International Access

The Website is operated from the United Kingdom and may be accessed internationally. AAL does not represent that the Website or any service described on it is appropriate, lawful or available in every jurisdiction. You are responsible for complying with laws and restrictions applicable where you access the Website or propose to engage AAL.

19. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms to reflect changes in law, regulation, Website functionality, security requirements or AAL's operations. The revised Terms will be published on this page with an updated date. Changes apply from publication unless a later date is stated.

20. General Provisions

If any provision of these Terms is found to be unlawful, invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in effect. A failure or delay by AAL in exercising a right does not waive that right.

AAL may assign or transfer its rights and obligations under these Terms as part of a corporate reorganisation, business transfer or transfer of the Website. You may not assign your rights under these Terms without AAL's prior written consent.

No person other than you and AAL has any right under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 to enforce these Terms.

21. Precedence and Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy, Compliance page and any additional notice expressly incorporated by reference, constitute the agreement governing your use of the Website.

They do not replace a signed engagement letter, mandate, subscription agreement, non-disclosure agreement, report licence or other written agreement with AAL. Where such an agreement applies, it will prevail in relation to its subject matter.

22. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

These Terms and any non-contractual obligations arising from or connected with them are governed by the laws of England and Wales. Subject to any mandatory rights that apply by law, the courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction over disputes relating to the Website or these Terms.

23. Contact

Questions about these Terms or the use of the Website may be sent to:

Ascendancy Advisors Limited
Suite RA01, 195–197 Wood Street
London E17 3NU, United Kingdom
Company number: 15179861
Email: info [at] theaalgroup [dot] com