Spanish Chamber of Commerce in the United Kingdom

Category: News

  • Launching of Padel Club in London

    Did you know that Padel is the fastest growing sport in the world? Whilst proving to be one of the most popular sports in Spain and also in Argentina it is trying to earn its place among British sports.

    On Tuesday 12th June we held the launching of the Padel Club London in Canary Wharf, which is supported by one of our members: Padel England Association

    The event took place on the Club’s courts and the attendees got to see them up close  Mr. Tom Murray, manager from the Padel England Association, was there to show the attendees the facilities the new club offers to its members and padel players,  and also to explain the range of activities they had already developed and some others that they are currently arranging.

    After a brief tour around the 4 indoor courts and the rest of the club’s  infrastructure, the attendees had the chance to taste some Spanish wine and “Serrano” ham. Some of them even decided to try and played padel for a while!

    Padel is similar to tennis, though they have some differences. As some of you may not know how to play it, you can find the basics below:

    – Always played in doubles

    – Objective is to get the ball to the other side of the net and prevent the opponent from hitting the ball back.

    – Service: Stand behind the service line, drop the ball, let it bounce back up, hit the ball underarm, cross-court. Ball is not allowed to hit the fence on the serve (but it is allowed to hit the glass walls).

    – Ball is only allowed to hit the ground once on one side.

    – When attempting to hit the ball across, players are allowed to use the glass walls on their own playing field (either waiting for the ball to rebound off the glass walls and hit it forward, or hitting the ball across the net by using the glass walls).

    – Once the ball has crossed the net , it must bounce on the playing surface before hitting either the fence or the glass walls (unless opponent decides to volley or smash the ball back).

    – Point system as in tennis.

    Now that you know the rules, you just have to give this social sport a try that will shortly become the next trend in London!

  • Come and join us to enjoy the UEFA Euro 2012 game of the day: SPAIN vs IRELAND!

    Do not miss the opportunity to support your team while networking with fellow attendees from the Anglo-Spanish Society and our institution!

    The event will be hosted at the NH Harrington Hall, member of the Spanish Chamber.

    *For further information about time and location, please click here:

    https://spanish.en-desarrollo.net/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=163

  • MAPFRE, NEW PATRON OF THE CHAMBER

    We would like to welcome MAPFRE as a new Patron of the Spanish Chamber.

    MAPFRE is the leading insurance company in Spain and has a presence in more than 40 countries. MAPFRE, which ranks as the sixth largest European Non-Life insurance company, has over 35,000 employees and more than 23 million customers worldwide. The company is listed on the Madrid and Barcelona stock exchanges, and forms part of the IBEX 35.

    Their market is focused mainly in Spain, Europe and Latin America. Furthermore, the Group has presence in USA and Turkey, among other countries. MAPFRE product range covers all fields of the insurance business.

    They work on specific competitive solution to meet each of their client needs, as well as those related to their properties and assets. In Spain, the company’s activities also involve Investment Funds, Pension Funds and Pension Plans management, and other business services.

    For additional information, please visit the website http://www.mapfre.com/

  • LSE Conferences: “Reinventing Air Travel – Low Cost, High Service”

    Vueling is the second  low cost airline in Europe.  Still, they have built a business model that seems hard to achieve: low rates + quality services.

    Álex Cruz, CEO of Vueling, visited London last week and held a conference about he company he runs and the key points that have lead them to become one of the most popular low cost airlines in Europe. This  lecture  belongs to a series of conferences:  “Strategy and Leadership in Spain” ,  a collaboration between the London School of Economics and the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain.

    The conference titled “Reinventing Air Travel – Low Cost, High Service” was introduced by Paul Preston, British Historian, Hispanist and Chairman of the Catalan Observatory, LSE. Then Mr Cruz took the audience through the history of airlines, from the beginning of commercial aviation in the 50’s until the era of mass transport started back in the 80’s.  “In just some years flying changed from being only for rich people to be accesible and cheap for everyone”, he pointed out.

    A flight from Barcelona to Ibiza inaugurated Vueling 8 years ago, in 2004. Since then the company has become the second lowest cost airline in Europe, covering 21 routes with 59 aircraft. Mr Cruz described the values of the company as ‘sensatez y rebeldía’, which he translated as ‘reasonableness and rebelliousness’. As the young company it is, Vueling has embraced new technologies and also gained publicity in many innovative ways. Although the predictions for the next years are not good because of the economic situation, the reduced demand in some countries and the high price of fuel, the CEO of Vueling concluded the conference with some optimistic words: “The company will keep challenging itself to achieve continuous profitable growth.”

    About Álex Cruz

    Mr Cruz started his professional career with American Airlines first in Dallas and then in London. Afterwards, he started to develop his own consulting project with Arthur D. Little : his own aviation consulting company becoming a partner with Accenture. After gaining some experience in the consultancy field, he started and managed the growth of Clickair to 26 A320s and 58 Europe-wide routes in 2006.  Finally, in  2009, he successfully merged Clickair with Vueling, one of the main and most important achivements of his career.

  • Afternoon Tea for Patrons

    The Spanish Chamber of Commerce was honoured to have Mr. John Cridland, Director-General of the Confederation of Brithish Indrustry,  as the Guest of Honour for an exclusive Patrons’ Club event at the Meliá White House, member of the Chamber. Our Patrons were invited to enjoy an afternoon tea while listening to Mr. Cridland’s interesting speech about the relationship between British and Spanish markets.

    There was a great expectation among the attendees on what John Cridland had to say about the current economic climate and its impact on UK-based business and European markets. The President of the Spanish Chamber, Mr. Fernando Pérez, introduced Mr. Cridland, who began his speech mentioning an Spanish figure that he claimed to admire greatly: Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, known as “El Cid Campeador”, a Middle Age nobleman and military leader very popular in Spain. As an anecdote, he told the attendees he has been to Spain several times with his family just to follow the steps out where “El Cid” walked by.

    Apart from outlining a brief path  on business relations between GB and Spain, John Cridland also went deeply into the Eurozone crisis, how it is affecting the British market and the perception within British industries of what is being done wrong but also some tips on how to move forward. In regard to this particular issue, he sounded quite optimistic but still realistic enough to show British companies concern and fears about the Eurozone, and mainly about Spain.

     Likewise, John Cridland pointed out the interest of SME’s in the British market and the CBI commitment with these companies when trying to convince government to create a mid-size bond market in the UK.

    Last but not least, there was time for Q&A that turned out into a very interesting discussion between our Patrons, who participated actively asking questions on many different topics, and Mr. Cridland. After this,  the attendees found time to network and enjoy the delicious scones, tea and savory sandwiches courtesy of  the Meliá White House Hotel, our kind sponsors for this Patrons’ Club event.

  • EUGIN Clinic, new Patron of the Chamber

    We would like to welcome EUGIN Clinic as a new Patron of the Spanish Chamber.

    EUGIN Clinic is one of the main specialised Assisted Reproduction centres in Spain. Since 1999, hundreds of women from all over Europe have found the assistance they needed to achieve one of the most important dreams in their lives.

    The legislation controlling Assisted Reproduction in Spain is one of the most complete and progressive in Europe and specifies all of the practises which are allowed. The clinic assures there is total guarantee that all the treatments are protected under this legislation.

    The high success rates of the treatments the EUGIN carries out are the result of methodical work, specialisation and the continuous improvement of its processes, for example by participating in numerous scientific projects.

    For additional information, please visit the website http://www.eugin.co.uk/

  • Introducing Vigo by Vueling

    On May the 23rd , Vigo landed  in London for a few hours to meet representatives from Spanish and British media for a breakfast at the Foreign Press Association.

    British people love Vigo. Or so reveal the numbers: over 150,000 Britons visited the city last year. That is one of the reasons why Vueling has launched a new destination Vigo-London.  A direct flight from Heathrow Airport, with a frequency of three flights a week, enables the discovery of Vigo as a unique and attractive holiday destination, a reference of quality tourism.

    Mr. Abel Caballero, Major of Vigo, was there to talk about this new opportunity for the city what he said is one of the most beautiful hidden spots within Spain. He pointed out the wide range of activities to do in the city from the sunrise to sunset that go from gastronomy and folklore to modern culture, nature and trips to the Cies islands, as an example.

    During the presentation, Abel Caballero was also joined by Ms. Marion Bauer on behalf of Vueling and Ms. Inma Gil, BBC Worldwide journalist who is a “viguesa” settled in London.

                                                       From left to right: Ms. Marion Bauer, Mr. Abel Caballero and Ms. Inma Gil

    After Mr. Caballero’s speech, there was an open Q & A for journalists to find out more about the details of this new route and also about statistics on the number and kind of  tourists visiting Vigo within the last years.

    However, the highlight of the event was the introduction of the city itself through a video that left the attendees  either open-mouthed or whispering about plan to go and visit the galician city. Luckily, and just in case you were not able to attend, we are now providing you with this  short movie to enjoy the wonders of Vigo and its outskirts.

    Now,  with this new Vueling destination straight from Heathrow to Vigo, not only can you go and enjoy this Northern Spanish beautiful city, but also enjoy the amazing connections this route has within Europe.

    [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sh1-GUOeXo]

  • Tamara Rojo: our 2012 Annual General Meeting Guest of Honour

    On June the 20th we are holding our 125th Annual General Meeting and we would like to take this opportunity to introduce Ms. Tamara Rojo, who will be the Guest of Honour for this event.

    Tamara Rojo began to take dance lessons when she was just 5. We can say without doubt that she had the gift with her from birth. From then onwards, she joined Ballet companies from different countries and kept on developing her remarkable career as a prima ballerina.

    In 1997, after leaving the Scottish National Ballet, Tamara joined the English National Ballet where she was chosen to perform a wide range of main roles and also some were specifically adapted for her. After 3 years within this company, Mrs. Rojo was officially invited to join the Royal Ballet, where she has been working ever since.

    September 2012 is going to be the next achievement for Tamara’s career as she will take over as Artistic Director for the English National Ballet. The English National Ballet is delighted to have her as their new leader and remarked on Tamara’s “worldwide reputation and creative vision to form inspiring collaborations throughout the UK and the world”.

    If you don’t want to miss this great opportunity to share the evening with such an fabulous artist, please do not forget to book your place for the Annual General Meeting dinner. For further information on this event and to submit your booking, please click  here .

    © Charlotte Macmillan

  • Annual Golden Award 2012

    Rafael Senén, Chairman of Mapfre Asistencia, together with Mr. Carles Casajuana, Ambassador of Spain, and Fernando Pérez, President of the Spanish Chamber.

    The Spanish Chamber of Commerce held its Annual Golden Award on April 25 at the Spanish Embassy in London.

    On this occassion, the Chamber has had the pleasure to recognise Mapfre’s track record and achivements in the UK business market thoughout the years.  Mr. Rafael Senén, Chairman of Mapfre Asistencia, received the award on behalf of the company and conveyed his gratitude for this acknowledgement.

    The award was presented by the Spanish Ambassador in the UK,  Mr. Carles Casajuana, who pointed out the relevant role Mapfre has played for furthering  business relations between Spanish and British markets.

    There was a significant number of representative companies from different sectors attending the event, both within British and Spanish markets. The President of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain, Fernando Pérez Fraile, also showed his congratulations on the award given to the Spanish company.

    Click here to see the pictures of the event.

  • The Secretary General presents the ‘Graduate European Programme’

    The XIV Edition of The Graduate European Programme was officially presented and launched on April the 16th at Universitat Abat Oliva CEU in Barcelona. The Secretary General of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, Silvia Estivill, was there to introduce the programme and it’s main aims to the students that attended the presentation.

    Silvia explained the facts and key points that have inspired and guided this succesful project that the Spanish Chamber has been organising for many years offering work experience to graduates in Business Administration, Economics and Marketing studies. The Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain launched this project with the following ideas in mind:

    – Awareness of the challenges facing European professionals today
    – Staying in line with the policies developed by the European Union; to promote the mobility of professionals and to improve training programmes including the learning of European languages
    – Recognition of the increased demand from graduates wishing to complete their professional training process in the United Kingdom
    – And, finally, comprehension of the current difficulties in finding positions in employment

    The application period is now open both for graduates and hosting companies that would like to join the programme. Further information about the content of the programme,  profile of the candidates, application form, dates & fees are available online on the official website: Graduate European Programme

    *If you have taken part as a hosting company or as a participant in some of the past editions of the Graduate European Programme, we would be pleased to have your testimonial on your experience posted in our blog.

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