General

• Membership of Buckinghamshire Business First (BBF) is for businesses located in Buckinghamshire or doing business in Buckinghamshire. Businesses outside of the UK are not eligible to be members of Buckinghamshire Business First.
• BBF is a company limited by guarantee. This is a legal personality which means we have members rather than shareholders. These members receive no financial return. If the company fails, financial responsibility is limited to £1 per member, this is an important safeguard for our members.
• As a business member you are also entitled to vote at the Annual General Meeting (AGM). Pre-start members are not entitled to vote at the AGM.
• By becoming a member, you acknowledge that the information you provide will be made available to the Board of Buckinghamshire Business First to enable you to be enrolled as a Member of the Company.
• By providing us with your email address you consent to receiving email communications from BBF or one of its subsidiary companies[1]. You can unsubscribe from these emails at any time.
• By providing us with your mobile phone number you consent to receiving SMS communications from BBF or one of its subsidiary companies[1]. You can unsubscribe from these messages at any time.
• BBF provides this website platform for members to support each other. BBF cannot be held liable, including financial responsibility, for any action taken either as a result of content on this website or as a result of advice received by any member of the BBF team. The information is provided by BBF and its members in good faith. If you find any content that you find to be incorrect or inappropriate please report this to the BBF team using the feedback form on the website.

Data and cookies

• Our privacy policy describes what data we collect about our members and how this is used. By signing up to be a member you agree to the processing of your data as described in the Privacy Policy.
• Our website uses cookies. A cookie is a small text file that is downloaded to your computer to improve your experience. By registering as a member of BBF you are providing your consent for the use of these cookies.
• We use a system called CookieBot. When you use the website you will be invited by CookieBot to see the cookies in use on the site. You can selectively allow the use of these various cookies depending on your preferences.

Membership

• Free membership of Buckinghamshire Business First is available exclusively to businesses located in Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes. 
  • Businesses outside of these areas are invited to join via one of our investment packages, unless a specific exception has been agreed with the Membership Team. 
  • Eligibility is determined based on the business’s registered postcode. Exceptions may be granted at the discretion of Buckinghamshire Business First and will be handled manually.
• We hope that you value being a member of Buckinghamshire Business First. Your investment in BBF helps to fund the services we provide to our members including, but not limited to, the events we run, the office space we make available for hot-desking and the meeting rooms that you are able to use to conduct professional business meetings. Once we receive your investment payment we would not ordinarily offer you a refund on this investment. The only exception to this is if you change your mind in the first 14 days – see ‘Cooling off’ below.
• We provide the option of paying for the annual membership commitment in 12 monthly instalments. Whether you choose to pay monthly or annually, your membership will automatically renew after 12 months. If you have previously invested, we will renew your membership at the same level. We will contact you by email at the end of the year to remind you that your subscription will automatically renew. Payment will be taken automatically by whatever method and frequency you have previously chosen.
• You can upgrade your membership at any time by increasing your investment level. If you made an annual payment and upgrade part way through the year, we would deduct from the new investment amount the remaining investment monies. As an example: You invested £150 6 months previously and you now want to upgrade to a £500 member package. Your £500 package will begin today and last for a year. We will deduct any balance from your original package - in this example £75 i.e. half of the original £150 package. You would pay £425 + VAT (£500 minus £75). If you chose to pay monthly, your new monthly payment would commence on the day of the upgrade and will renew annually thereafter. Any outstanding balance of your meeting rooms allowance will be added to your new balance.
• Cooling off. If you change your mind within 14 days of making an investment in BBF we will refund your payment. If you have used any of the BBF services within the first 14 days we reserve the right to deduct the value of this from the refund. Complete the ‘Feedback Form’ or email [email protected] to request a refund.
• As a member you can submit content to the website. BBF reserves the right to remove or edit any content submitted by you. We expect our members to remain respectful, professional, and courteous at all times. We aim to provide a website platform that contributes to the betterment of Buckinghamshire as a place to do business.
• BBF reserves the right to amend or withdraw the specific membership benefits you receive as a result of your investment with us.
• BBF reserves the right to cancel your membership at any time. If you have paid for a membership package we will refund to you any remaining membership fees equivalent to the time remaining on your paid membership package.
• If you have chosen to pay for your membership by making monthly payments and your payment is not received, we reserve the right to downgrade you.  Any features and benefits assigned to your account as a result of your upgrade may be withdrawn. Costs are incurred by us each time a payment attempt is made and fails.
• If you wish to cancel your membership of Buckinghamshire Business First please complete the ‘Feedback Form’ or email [email protected]. If you cancel your membership during the 14-day cooling-off period a full refund will be provided. We would really welcome your feedback so please tell us why you no longer wish to be a member. By terminating your membership we will remove your Profile from the BBF website and unsubscribe you from receiving the various membership email communications.
• As an invested member of Buckinghamshire Business First, you are able to upload content to the website. This includes Jobs, Events, Offers, etc. We have a fair usage policy and reserve the right to remove content where excessive numbers are added to the site. For example, we would expect a member to have no more than five live Offers at any point in time.

Buckinghamshire Business First – Programmes of Support

• You agree to provide financial information, details of FTEs employed, details of any new jobs created, new technologies or new processes introduced to the business as a result of the support received. Since 2020, due to Covid and the economic climate, it will be deemed that all jobs are forecast to be at risk within 6 months and therefore, the jobs in existence at the end of support will be considered as safeguarded.
• Buckinghamshire Business First cannot be liable, including financial responsibility, for any actions taken as a result of the advice received.

BBF Events

• Cancellations can be made up to 5 working days prior to an event and you will either be offered a refund or we will transfer your booking to another event in the same series with the same ticket price. Cancellations made after this time will result in the loss of the full event fee and a transfer to another event in the series will not be possible. Non-attendance on the day of the workshop will automatically lose the full event fee.
• Alternatively, you may wish to send a substitute attendee. We would be happy to arrange this for you for no additional charge.
• We try never to cancel an event; however it sometimes proves necessary either because the event has had insufficient bookings and it isn’t economic to run or because of unforeseen circumstances. We will endeavour to give you as much advance notice as possible of any such change. If BBF cancels an event, delegates will be given a full refund or the option of transferring to an alternative date if the event is rescheduled.
• All copyrights, patents, designs and other intellectual property rights in or relating to any course materials provided remain the sole property of BBF. No part of any course materials may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, or translated into any language, without the prior written permission of BBF.
• BBF may take photographs and videos of events and attendees for future promotional activity including social media. By booking to attend our events you provide your consent for these photographs or videos to be used and shared.
• When BBF collaborates with a partner organisation, speaker, or host to hold an event, we may share your data with them. This allows them to provide information about goods and services that may be of interest to you. When we intend to share your details with a partner this will be detailed in the event description. We or they may contact you about these by post, telephone, or email. For full details of the data we hold and how we use it, please take a look at our privacy policy.
• As a Partner or Ambassador member you are welcome to submit a proposal for a Member to Member workshop. BBF is not obliged to proceed with the workshop proposal you submit. BBF may advise changes to the format and content of the workshop to ensure it meets the needs and expectations of the membership community. BBF cannot guarantee the attendee numbers at a Member to Member workshop.
• Investing members are able to promote their events on the BBF website. These events are the responsibility of the host. BBF accepts no responsibility for these events and any queries should be made to the event host directly. The conditions above relate to BBF delivered events only.

Hub Space and Meeting rooms

• Hot-desk space at our Business Hub(s) is free of charge to members of Buckinghamshire Business First. We reserve the right to amend these terms at any time.
• So that we can accommodate as many businesses as possible, hot-desk space is limited to a maximum of 2 people per organisation. • When you become a member of BBF we will allocate you four free hours of meeting room space. The number of free hours increases with the investment you make. We reserve the right to amend the allocation at any time.
• Rooms are also available to book on a ‘Pay as You Go’ basis. The cost is £10 + VAT per room per hour. Payment is taken at the time of booking and the booking must be completed through the website.
• The BBF meeting rooms are provided for members to meet other members and to conduct normal office activities only.
• Rooms are available on a ‘first come first served’ basis.
• The allocation does not entitle you to free meeting room space if there is no availability. There will be no refund on any unused meeting room allocation.
• Any remaining meeting room hours at the end of the membership period will be removed. Your membership will automatically renew as a Free member and you will be allocated a new allowance of meeting room hours.
• Meeting room bookings may be cancelled in advance. The cancellation needs to be made through the website and the time will be credited back to your account. There will be no refund on meeting rooms that were paid for – the time will be credited to your account to use on another occasion.
• The meeting rooms are made available to support businesses to grow. We would ask all members to leave the rooms in a clean and tidy condition. You should remove all rubbish and return the room to the condition in which you found it. We reserve the right to prevent a member from booking or using a room if they do not adhere to this.
• The room should be vacated promptly at the end of the booking time to ensure the next member can begin their meeting promptly.

Competitions 

Our prize draws, and competitions are organised by Buckinghamshire Business First (BBF), Registered in England Wales No. 04107584 – Registered Office: Buckinghamshire Business First, Claydon House, 1 Edison Road, Rabans Lane Industrial Area, Aylesbury, HP19 8TE.  

How to enter

• Entries received after the stated closing date will not be accepted. 
• Our prize draws, and competitions are free to enter, and no purchase is necessary. 
• BBF will not accept responsibility for entries that are lost, mislaid, damaged or delayed in transit, regardless of cause, including, for example, as a result of any postal failure, equipment failure, technical malfunction, systems, satellite, network, server, computer hardware or software failure of any kind. 
• By submitting an entry, you are agreeing to be bound by these Terms and Conditions. If you have any questions, please contact [email protected]. 
•  BBF reserves the right to refuse entry, or refuse to award the prize to anyone in breach of these terms and conditions. 

Eligibility 

• Unless otherwise stated, our prize draws and competitions are open to all except employees of  BBF, their families, agents or any third party directly associated with the administration of the prize draw. 
• Entrants must be aged 18 or over. 
• Only one entry per person is permitted. 
• In entering, you confirm that you are eligible to do so and eligible to claim any prize you may win. BBF may require you to provide proof that you are eligible to enter the prize draw or competition. 
• BBF reserves all rights to disqualify you if your conduct is contrary to the spirit or intention of the prize draw or competition. 

The Draw 

• A winner will be chosen by random draw performed by a computer process within one month of the prize draw or competition ending. 
• The winner will be notified by email or telephone (using details provided at entry) within 7 days of being chosen and must provide a postal address to claim their prize. If a winner does not respond to BBF within 14 days of being notified, then the winner’s prize will be forfeited and BBF will be entitled to select another winner in accordance with the process described above. 
• The prize will be sent to the winner within 14 days of responding to BBF. 
• The prize is non-exchangeable, non-transferable and no cash alternative is offered. BBF reserves the right to replace the prize with an alternative prize of equal or higher value if circumstances beyond BBF’s control make it necessary to do so. 
• The decision of BBF regarding any aspect of the prize draw or competition is final and binding and no correspondence will be entered into about it. 
• The winner’s name and county can be obtained by sending an email to [email protected] within 60 days after the date of the closing date of the prize draw or competition.  
• BBF reserves the right to hold void, cancel, suspend, or amend the promotion where it becomes necessary to do so. 

Limitation of liability 

• Insofar as is permitted by law, BBF, its agents, or distributors will not in any circumstances be responsible or liable to compensate the winner or accept any liability for any loss, damage, personal injury, or death occurring as a result of taking up the prize except where it is caused by the negligence of BBF, its agents or distributors or that of their employees. Your statutory rights are not affected. 
• Data protection and publicity 
• BBF is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy and will only use your personal information in accordance with these Terms and Conditions and BBF’s Privacy Policy which is available on our website: https://bbf.uk.com/privacy-policy 
• By entering, you agree that any personal information provided by you with your entry may be held and used by BBF or its agents and suppliers to administer the competition. 

​[1] Ngage Solutions Ltd and Ngage Business Services Ltd are the wholly owned subsidiaries of Buckinghamshire Business First.

Last reviewed by Sarah Randall, 2 October 2023.