Cookie Policy
Last updated: May 2026
What are cookies?
Cookies are small text files stored on your device by websites you visit. They are used to make websites work more efficiently, remember your preferences, and provide information to site owners about how their site is being used.
How we use cookies
We use a minimal set of cookies on this website. We use analytics cookies to understand how visitors use our site, and advertising cookies to measure the performance of our Google Ads campaigns (so we can see which ads lead to enquiries and avoid wasting money on ads that don't work). No analytics or advertising cookies are set until you give explicit consent via our cookie banner.
Cookies we use
The table below lists the analytics and advertising cookies that may be set on your device if you accept. These are loaded via Google Tag Manager, which itself does not set cookies but injects the tags below.
| Name | Provider | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| _ga | Google Analytics 4 | Distinguishes unique visitors. | 2 years |
| _ga_<container-id> | Google Analytics 4 | Persists session state for GA4. | 2 years |
| _gid | Google Analytics | May be set to distinguish users within a short window in some GA configurations. | 24 hours |
| _gcl_au | Google Ads (Conversion Linker) | Stores and tracks ad click information to attribute conversions back to a Google Ads campaign. | 90 days |
| _gcl_aw, _gcl_dc | Google Ads | Set when a visitor arrives via a Google Ads click. Used to measure conversions from search and display ads. | 90 days |
| IDE | Google DoubleClick (doubleclick.net) | Used by Google to register and report a visitor's actions after viewing or clicking an advertiser's ad, for the purpose of measuring ad effectiveness and presenting targeted ads. | 13 months |
| test_cookie | Google DoubleClick (doubleclick.net) | Checks whether your browser supports cookies. | 15 minutes |
| gtm_consent | This website | Remembers your cookie consent choice so we don't show the banner on every page. Stored in localStorage, not a cookie. | Until you clear it |
Legal basis
Under the UK Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) and UK GDPR, we rely on your consent (UK GDPR Article 6(1)(a)) to place non-essential cookies on your device. No analytics or advertising cookies are set until you click "Accept" on our cookie banner.
What data is collected
If you accept, Google Analytics 4 collects:
- Pages you visit on our site and how long you spend on them
- How you arrived at our site (e.g. search engine, referral link)
- Approximate location (country / region), derived from your IP address — GA4 does not store the IP itself
- Device and browser type
If you accept, Google Ads collects:
- Whether you arrived at our site by clicking one of our ads, and which ad/campaign
- Whether you went on to take a measurable action (e.g. submitted the contact form or called us from the website) so the conversion can be attributed back to that ad
Google Analytics is configured with data retention set to 14 months. We use Google Ads only to measure campaign performance and may use audiences built from site visitors to inform future ad targeting. We do not sell or share data with third parties beyond Google.
Managing your preferences
You can withdraw or change your consent at any time:
- to update your choice.
- Alternatively, you can block or delete cookies through your browser settings. Most browsers let you control cookies via their settings; refer to your browser's help pages for details.
- You can opt out of Google Analytics entirely using the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.
- You can manage Google Ads personalisation at Google Ads Settings.
If you reject, we will not collect any data about your visit, and any analytics or advertising cookies previously set in this session will be cleared.
Third-party services
Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager and Google Ads are provided by Google LLC. Data may be transferred to and processed in the United States under Google's Standard Contractual Clauses and EU-US Data Privacy Framework. See Google's Privacy Policy for more information.
Changes to this policy
We may update this cookie policy from time to time. Any changes will be reflected on this page with an updated revision date.
Contact us
If you have questions about how we use cookies, contact us at info@gemtreemanagement.co.uk or call 020 8206 1073.
For our full approach to personal data, see our privacy policy.