Spanish Chamber of Commerce in the United Kingdom

Categoría: networking event

ELEVATOR PITCH | XXVIII EDITION

On Thursday 1^st December, we held the XXVIII edition of our Elevator Pitch networking event. On this occasion the event took place at the Mayfair premises of Lloyds Bank, Patron of the Spanish Chamber, who kindly hosted our guests.

Mr. Joe Street and Mr. Amit Varia, from Lloyd’s, kindly welcomed attendees upon arrival and made sure everything was ready for another edition of this successful format.

Attendees had the opportunity to network before the presentations round started.

The event was chaired by Jesús Agra, our Foreign Trade Manager and Cristina Carmona, Head of Corporate Relations and Communication of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce. After reminding attendees the dynamics of this format, the round of presentations kicked off, with our host Joe Street starting the proceedings.

After Joe’s presentation, each attendee had 2 minutes to give a concise introduction about their company’s main line of activity and services they provide. After this, there was a second round where everyone had the opportunity to ask questions to the rest of participants. After the round of questions was finished, everyone had the opportunity to chat and continue networking over breakfast without time constraints.

Representatives from the Spanish Chamber of Commerce and Lloyds Bank welcomed the attendees.

Should you be interested in joining the next edition of this networking event, there are just a couple of things you need to know: Usually there are up to 16 participant companies, and only one representative per company is allowed. However, it is possible to have up to two companies from the same business sector. Therefore, attendees are able to meet a wide variety of companies from different sectors and exchange their business cards.

On this occasion, a wide variety of sectors were represented among the 12 companies that were in attendance at this edition: De España a Londres (Relocation services), E-Lixir Consulting (Digital Communication), DLF Mobility (Transport of goods, Storage and Handling goods), EY (Business Consultancy Services), Lloyds Bank (Banking and Financial Services), Haymarket Risk Management (Business Consultancy Services), Kuorum (Online Database Services), Milingual (Language Services), My New London Property (Relocation Services), Norte by Bilbao Berria (Bar, Restaurant and Catering Services), Paradox Partners (Education, Training and Learning) and Spanish in Nature (Language Services).

Each participant introduced their company in 2 minutes to the rest of the audience.

As always we would like to thank all the professionals who joined us on the last edition of the Elevator Pitch in 2016 and our gratitude to our Patron Lloyds Bank for kindly hosting the event and welcoming us.

If you missed this event or simply want to know what we are up to next, have a look at the UPCOMING EVENTS section on our website or subscribe to our electronic newsletter for weekly updates.

08/12/2016
MAHOU PARTY NOVEMBER 2016

On Thursday 17^th November, we were delighted to celebrate our third “Mahou Party” which was organised in collaboration with Mahou – San Miguel. On this occasion the event took place at Norte by Grupo Bilbao Berria, a restaurant located in Regent Street.

Mahou- San Miguel, Patron of the Chamber, our proud sponsor for the evening.

This was the third edition of a successful series of informal events organised in partnership with one of the Patrons of the Spanish Chamber, Mahou – San Miguel. Mahou is a Spanish family owned company with 125 years of history and international presence in 70 countries, with United Kingdom being one of its main markets, where the company has had presence for more than 25 years.

Cristina Oyartzun (left), from Mahou San Miguel,enjoyed the evening along with our guests.

The event gathered over 80 guests who could escape momentarily from the bitter cold and enjoy the cosy atmosphere of the venue. The evening welcomed a host of new and old members, who could catch up with fellow professionals and friends in a relaxed and friendly environment, the perfect mood to experience the flavour of one of the most well-known Spanish beers along with Northern-Spain inspired tapas.

We would like to thank everyone for sharing with us a lovely evening. As always special thanks to Mahou- San Miguel and their representatives for making possible another wonderful party. If you missed this or the previous “Mahou Parties”, you can still catch up and join us for the last one of the year, the “ChristMahou Party” on 12^th December.

Our guest could enjoyed the 5 star-taste of Mahou beer.

If you missed the event, you still have a last chance to join us for the last Mahou Party of the year: our Christmahou Jumper Party on Monday 12th December. As places are very limited, please click here to find out more about how to book yours for the evening. We look forward to welcoming our members and their best Christmas jumper outfits!

If you want to find out more about it and the upcoming activities the Chamber is organising, we recommend that you have a look at our UPCOMING EVENTS visiting our website or subscribing to our weekly newsletter.

06/12/2016
BREAKFAST SEMINAR: FINANCING INNOVATION FOR BUSINESSES

On Thursday, 10^th November, we had the pleasure of holding the seminar “Financing Innovation for Businesses”, at the premises of the Spanish Chamber. We held this seminar in collaboration with F. Iniciatives, member of the Chamber.

On this occasion, Cristina Carmona, Head of External Relations and Communications of the Chamber, gave a warm welcome to all attendees on behalf of our institution and gave the floor to the speakers of the session: Mr. Antoine Abbatucci, Business Development Manager and Mr. Eneko Igartua, International Grants Consultant.

Mr. Abbatucci, began the session introducing the schemes of the Research and Development Tax Incentives. The main aim of this tax incentive is to increase the competitiveness of the UK companies and to guide them through their R&D activities expansion.

Mr. Eneko Igartua presenting during the seminar.

After that, Antoine explained the requirements that HM Revenue & Customs have established for companies to be able to access grants, and he then introduced the R&D tax relief for SMEs. He started by defining the concept of an SME following the European Commission criteria and then he went on to describe the Calculation of the R&D Tax Relief and the benefits SMEs can have through the claiming process which works by self-assessment.

After Antoine finished the introduction, it was the turn of his colleague Eneko Igartua who introduced to attendees the UK´s Innovation Agency, which funds, supports, and connects innovative British businesses through a unique mix of people and programmes to accelerate sustainable economic growth.

Antoine Abbatucci (far right) could greet attendees before the session started.

As Eneko explained, there are a series of initiatives currently running to foster research-based and innovation-driven projects, including the European R+D+I Grant, Horizon 2020. This is a funding framework programme for all EU research and innovation-related activities being carried out between 2014 and 2020. With a budget of 70.2 billion euros, Horizon 2020 was created with the aim to strengthen the EU’s position in research, innovation, and technology matters.

To conclude the seminar, Antoine Abbatucci offered an overview of the Brexit impact for R&D Funding; for now there are no changes in the participation of British companies within European programmes until the Brexit become effective, but after Brexit multiple scenarios are possible and it is key to be informed of different European grants and funds to react accordingly.

Participants had time to continue the discussion after the seminar.

After the session, all attendees had the opportunity to exchange their impressions and ideas about the points covered in the seminar while enjoying some breakfast.

We would like to thank all attendees for joining us and particularly Antoine Abbatucci and Eneko Igartua from F.Iniciatives for delivering such an insightful seminar.

If you want to find out about other activities organised by the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, we encourage you to keep an eye on our UPCOMING EVENTS section on our website. In addition to this, you can also subscribe to our weekly newsletter in order to receive updates and information about our events.

24/11/2016
BREAKFAST SEMINAR: NAVIGATING BREXIT UNCERTAINTY

Following the British referendum vote last June, and the subsequent events that international businesses operating in London have been faced with, on Friday 14^th October we hosted a breakfast seminar on “Navigating Brexit Uncertainty: Key Questions for Business Leaders” which was organised in collaboration with our member Wilson Perumal & Company .

To start off the session, Mr. Igor Urra, Secretary General of the Spanish Chamber, warmly welcomed attendees and introduced Ms. Isabel Fernández, Manager, and Mr. Thom Hamnett, Case Team Leader, from Wilson Perumal, who would be taking participants through the different implications and potential scenarios for businesses in the wake of the referendum.

Mr. Igor Urra introducing the speakers: Ms. Isabel Fernández and Mr. Thom Hamnett.

Isabel began the session introducing the context of the Brexit and describing some ‘no-regret’ activities that businesses can undertake to get ahead of the competition. She continued explaining some of the short-term impacts on the UK economy since the Brexit vote such as the currency impact, the delay in investments and an evident decline in employment levels.

In the medium term, the challenge will focus on negotiations, which would add a new level of complexity as the country will have to define a new relationship with the EU as well as new trade agreements with the rest of the countries.

After that, Isabel gave the floor to her colleague Tom Hamnett, who talked about six possible scenarios in regard with UK’s future trade relationship with the EU. He also added that any possible scenario will have a great impact on the UK businesses.

The session provided a platform to analyse potential scenarios after Brexit.

Isabel continued explaining the concept of “Dynamic Scenario Planning”, which is the hypothetical situation where companies imagine their future. They should build their own “plan B” to face Brexit setting their objectives and developing their own action´s plans.

To conclude the seminar Isabel and Tom explained the importance of taking a step back and read between the lines in order to maintain some scenarios that will put the companies on the front foot for the chances to come.

As it could not have been otherwise, the topic in question paved the way for an engaging and lively Q&A session where attendees took the opportunity to analyse in more detail the different scenarios discussed by the speakers and ponder what each of them might imply for their businesses in particular. After the round of questions, participants could resume their conversation over coffee and pastries and engage in further networking.

Attendees shared their thoughts and exchanged opinions over breakfast.

We would like to thank again Isabel Fernández and Tom Hamnett from Wilson Perumal & Company for sharing such insightful and valuable information with the participants who attended this session. We hope the event help shed some light on the implications of Brexit for different business sectors.

If you could not join us on this occasion and would like to be updated on future activities, please subscribe to our weekly newsletter or visit the UPCOMING EVENTS section on our website.

28/10/2016
BREAKFAST SEMINAR: MANAGING VIRTUAL TEAMS

On Wednesday 5th October, we had the pleasure of holding the workshop “Managing Virtual Teams”, organised in collaboration with The London School of International Communication, which is part of The London School of English, member of the Chamber.

Virtual team working is nowadays the norm for many organisations, yet many teams fail to meet their objectives due to poor communication, language barriers, feelings of isolation and a lack of team cohesion.

On this occasion, our Secretary General, Igor Urra, gave a warm welcome to the attendees on behalf of the Chamber and introduced Ms. Cathy Wellings, director of The London School of International Communication, who began the session with a brief introduction to the concept of managing virtual teams and its importance considering that around 66% of international companies deploy employees across the globe.

Mr. Igor Urra welcomed attendees and introduced our speaker Ms. Cathy Wellings.

To kick off, she explained the aim of the session, which was to show participants how to minimise the challenges and maximise the benefits of working across different geographies. This explanation was followed by a group dynamics in which attendees -paired up back to back- tried to communicate with their partner. The aim of this exercise was to provide participants with a first-hand example to illustrate the communication problems that may arise when we are not able to speak face to face with someone.

After this group exercise, the speaker went on talking about the importance of launching a good and successful remote team. It is essential, she argued, to make sure that the organisation is prepared to support virtual work in the first place. Likewise, one of the most challenging situations consists in choosing the right people when we may not know them in person, which leads to the importance of building trust among the members of the virtual team in order to make it work.

The session covered the main challenges and benefits of working with virtual teams.

The Director of the London School of International Communication continued her talk with further examples regarding how to measure trust and what constitute relevant criteria to assess if the members of a remote team are effectively dependable.

To conclude the seminar, Cathy elaborated on the ideal sort of behaviours the virtual team manager should have to encourage teams. She highlighted that building a relationship based on trust, being accessible to the employees and encouraging collaboration among them was paramount to pave the way for creating and developing a successful virtual team.

Before the seminar was over, participants were invited to enjoy breakfast, whilst given the opportunity to discuss the session’s ideas and concepts further with the speaker.

Ms. Wellings providing an example of how a virtual manager should behave to encourage team cohesion.

We would like to thank all attendees for joining us, and particularly The London School of Communication, part of The London School of English, and its Director Cathy Wellings for delivering such a dynamic, interesting and useful session.

If you want to find out about other activities organised by the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, we encourage you to keep an eye on our UPCOMING EVENTS section on our website. In addition to this, you can also subscribe to our weekly newsletter in order to receive updates and information about our events.

17/10/2016
INTERNATIONAL WINE, BEER AND SPIRITS TASTING 2016

On Tuesday 20th September we took part in the International Wine and Spirits Tasting, which is organised every year by several foreign Chambers of Commerce in London. This event aims to broaden the attendee’s network by gaining access to a genuine international audience.

Over 250 guests gathered at the magnificent Drapers´Hall, a livery hall steps away from the City, to taste a selection of wine, beer, and spirits from around the world as they walked their way around the different country stations scattered throughout the venue.

On this occasion, Argentina, Austria, Belgium & Luxembourg, Canada, Colombia, France, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Spain and Switzerland were the countries whose wines and spirits were represented at the event. This made this evening the largest International Wine and Spirits Tasting to date in terms of number of countries represented.

This year the event counted with almost 250 attendees.

With such international mixture the event didn’t fail to impress. Guests had a unique opportunity to broaden their international business networks with their peers from other Chambers, with which everyone was delighted. In fact, attendees were sharing and exchanging opinions about the spirits and making recommendations to each other in a very relaxed environment, which translated into a very positive and lively atmosphere.

Alhambra Reserva 1925, from Mahou-San Miguel group, Patron of the Chamber provided a delicious beer for the event.

The International Wine and Spirits Tasting would not be possible without the kind collaboration of the sponsors. On this occasion, Alhambra Reserva 1925, from Mahou-San Miguel group, Patron of the Chamber was the sponsor of the Spanish Chamber. Mr. Pau Campolier and Mr. Alexis Becco, from Mahou-San Miguel, were in charge of the Spanish beer station.

During the event, there were many individuals and lovers of the Spanish gastronomy that stopped by the Spanish stand to taste the beer presented by Alhambra, Reserva 1925. This variety is crafted with hand-selected Saaz hops, among the most exclusive in the world, and renowned for their delicate aroma and floral spicy flavour.

Alhambra remains faithful to its traditions while reinterpreting and adapting its beer to modern times.

Pau Campolier and Alexis Becco from Mahou- San Miguel at the Spanish Chamber stand.

Spanish beer was only one of the many options our guests could taste. According to many attendees, the revelation of the evening was the new participant Colombia and their rum. Others showed their preference for Japanese sake, or the colourful Italians liqueurs, without forgetting the sweet Canadian ice wine that once again impressed the most demanding connoisseurs. What everyone agreed on was the excellent selection each country offered, which allowed many guests to discover new and unexpected flavours.

The attendees had the opportunity to enjoy different kinds of spirits from around the world.

We would like to warmly thank our Patron Mahou-San Miguel for their kind support providing the Alhambra beer. Likewise, we would like to thank as well to all the attendees who joined us and, especially, to our colleagues at the Foreign Chambers of Commerce and trade institutions for their work and collaboration to bring this event to life and make it a success yet once again.

We are looking forward to seeing you next year at the International Wine and Spirits Tasting. If you could not attend or would like to remember this outstanding evening, please click here to access the complete gallery of pictures for this event.

If you want to know what we are up to next, sneak a peek at the UPCOMING EVENTS section on our website or subscribe to our electronic newsletter for weekly updates

04/10/2016
BREAKFAST SEMINAR “FRAUD: MANAGING THE RISK TO YOUR BUSINESS”

On Tuesday 2^nd February, the Spanish Chamber held the seminar “Fraud: Managing the Risk to your Business” in collaboration with Haymarket Risk Management, member of the Chamber.

On this occasion, our Secretary General, Igor Urra, received attendees on behalf of our institution and introduced the speakers from Haymarket: Brian Mearns, Managing Director, Richard Kusnierz, Divisional Director Advanced Investigative Data Analytics and Geoff Chalder, Divisional Director International Crime.

From left to right, the speakers from Haymarket Risk Management: Richard Kusnierz, Divisional Director Advanced Investigative Data Analytics, Brian Mearns, Managing Director and Geoff Chalder, Divisional Director International Crime.

To kick off, Brian Mearns talked about the role played by Haymarket in order to help other companies to fight against fraud and revealed the three main aspects that compose a proper Fraud Response Plan, which would be covered during the session: prevention, detection and response and investigation .

After this brief introduction, Geoff Chalder went on to show attendees the size of the problem in the UK in terms of business losses and number of fraud incidents, as well as undetected fraud cases. Moreover, he explained the impact and damage caused in business reputation due to these practices and mentioned some of the main existing threats, such as payroll fraud, procurement fraud, theft of goods or money and bribery and corruption.

Regarding these threats, Brian Mearns discussed real cases where internal employees and known relationships were involved; demonstrating how difficult is for companies to be aware of fraud existence.

The organizers of the seminar: Haymarket Risk Management and the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain.

After that, Richard Kusnierz explained the two first stages of the Fraud Response Plan: prevention and detection. In this sense, he emphasized that it is essential to understand the data and evidence available by having a pre-screening of employees and business partners as well as an internal audit and controls.

To conclude the seminar, Haymarket’s Managing Director Brian Mearns focused on the response and investigation stage after the existence of fraud has been detected. He also commented on the relevant aspects about data protection in both the United Kingdom and the European Union before summing up the main topics the different speakers had covered.

The event then moved on to the Q&A session, where the representatives of Haymarket responded to all the questions from the attendees. Once the session finished, participants could enjoy an interactive networking breakfast while sharing thoughts and discussing further all the ideas covered in the talk.

Once the talk had finished, attendees had the opportunity to network and exchange their opinions about the session.

If you want to find out other activities that the Spanish Chamber of Commerce is organising, we encourage you to keep an eye on our UPCOMING EVENTS section within our website. In addition to this, you can also subscribe to our weekly newsletter in order to receive updates with our events.

05/02/2016
New Year’s Drinks Reception

On 25^th January the Spanish Chamber of Commerce celebrated the New Year’s Drinks Reception, our first corporate event of 2016. The event was held at the Millennium Hotel London Mayfair located at the heart of Mayfair.

The evening proved a huge success among our members yet another year on, with over 200 representatives of both British and Spanish companies in attendance. Guests had the opportunity to wish Happy New Year to fellow colleagues and develop new professional relations.

Our guests mingling during the New Year’s Drinks Reception.

The event was also the official presentation of the recently appointed President of the Spanish Chamber, Mr. Javier San Basilio, who for the first time in the year formally addressed our members and guests in his new role.

Mr. San Basilio opened his speech by welcoming attendees and thanked our members for their support. He announced the new Patrons the Chamber had gained since the AGM in June and encouraged our associates to transmit their demands and needs to the Chamber’s team.

From left to right: Our Guest of Honour Mr. Chris Bryant MP and Shadow Leader of the House of Commons, H.E. Mr. Federico Trillo- Figueroa, Spanish Embassador, and Mr. Javier San Basilio, President of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain.

Later on, it was the turn for our Guest of Honour Mr. Chris Byant MP. He shared his experience during the years he lived in Spain and highlighted the strong and close relationship between Spain and the United Kingdom.

Finally, the Ambassador of Spain H.E. Mr. Federico Trillo-Figueroa thanked again guests for their attendance. During his closing remarks he mentioned the importance of this year for our two countries as Their Majesties the King and Queen of Spain will be on official state visit in the UK later in the year.

Our member Spanish Ham Master provided a delicious 5J’s ham for the event, which guests could taste freshly hand-carved on the spot.

We would like to thank our member Spanish Ham Master for their kind support providing a 5Js ham for the evening and offering a first-class tasting experience to our guests.

Likewise, we would like to thank the D.O. Rioja for having kindly provided the red and white wines for this first event of the year, providing an impressive selection of 37 different wines.

White and red wines were kindly provided by D.O. Rioja.

If you enjoyed this event, you can now have access to the complete gallery of pictures of the NEW YEAR’S DRINKS RECEPTION by clicking here.

Last but not least, we encourage you to browse our Upcoming Events section in order to keep up to date with future Spanish Chamber corporate events, seminars and many other activities. We look forward to seeing you at the next one!

01/02/2016

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