Before you send
Approaching a business owner: the email, call and takeover rules
Updated
An unsolicited approach is marketing your own offer, so the electronic marketing rules apply to it. Which rule depends on who you are writing to.
A limited company or LLP
The ICO's guidance is that the PECR email consent rule does not apply to corporate subscribers, so you may email a company's director about buying it, identifying yourself and giving a way to opt out.
Source: ICO: business-to-business marketing
A sole trader or partnership
These are individual subscribers, so regulation 22 needs their consent before an unsolicited marketing email. Write a letter instead.
Source: PECR 2003, regulation 22
Phone and post
Calls
Screen the number against the Telephone Preference Service and the Corporate TPS registers before a cold call.
Letters
Address the director by name from the Companies House register, which every company must keep up to date.
Source: Companies House advanced search
Listed and public companies
The Takeover Code
An approach to a company the Code covers can oblige an announcement of a possible offer, so it goes to the board, never to a shareholder by cold call.
Source: Takeover Code rule 2.2