On Wednesday 8th June we held the 129th Annual General Meeting and Dinner, one of the most important annual events of our institution, at Drapers’ Hall. On this special occasion we were honoured to have Mr. Juan-Miguel Villar Mir, Chairman of Grupo Villar Mir and of OHL, as our Guest of Honour.
As it is traditional, the actual General Meeting, exclusively for members of our institution, preceded the drinks reception and dinner that would follow later in the evening. The members’ meeting took place at the premises of White & Case, member of the Chamber, while the drinks reception and dinner were held at the historic Drapers’ Hall, located in the heart of the City of London.
During the members’ General Meeting, the Executive Committee of the Chamber presented the Financial Statements of 2015, as well as the Memorandum of the activities and events organised by the Chamber during the mentioned year. Afterwards, H.E. the Ambassador of Spain presented a macroeconomic analysis of the Spanish economic situation and provided data regarding the bilateral relationship between Spain and the United Kingdom.
After the meeting, representatives of Spanish and British companies made their way to the drinks reception and dinner at Drapers’ Hall, one of the City’s 39 traditional livery companies still existing in London. The tastefully decorated venue provided an unforgettable backdrop for the nearly 200 attendees that had the opportunity to gather for this special occasion.
Upon arrival guests were led to the reception rooms, where they had the opportunity to interact and network with other attendees while enjoying a delicious Spanish ham, kindly sponsored by our member Spanish Ham Master, and tasting the white and red wines kindly provided by the Spanish winery Leyenda del Páramo. After the drinks reception was finished, the Master of Ceremonies informed attendees they should make their way for dinner, which was served at the splendorous Livery Hall.
The proceedings of the dinner started with H.E. the Ambassador of Spain leading the traditional loyal toasts in honour of the Queen of Great Britain and the King of Spain. After the dessert was served, it was time for the traditional round of speeches. To begin with, the President of the Chamber, Mr. Javier San Basilio, took the floor to thank members for their continuous support and express his gratitude to all attendees for joining us on such a wonderful evening. He also emphasised the great results of the Spanish Chamber in 2015, gaining six Patrons since the last AGM and proudly presented OHL DESARROLLOS as newest Patron of our organisation.
The President of the Spanish Chamber then gave the floor to H.E. the Ambassador of Spain, Mr. Federico Trillo-Figueroa, who expressed his sincere gratitude to the institution for allowing him to share such an important evening with our members and attendees, and kindly introduced our Guest of Honour, Mr. Juan-Miguel Villar Mir, Chairman of Grupo Villar Mir and Chairman of OHL.
During his speech, Mr. Villar Mir thanked the attendees for supporting the growing Anglo-Spanish business community in London and expressed his gratitude to the Spanish Chamber for the invitation to be the Guest of Honour on such an important evening. He provided the audience with an interesting insight of the company he leads and also highlighted his proudness for their partnership with the Hinduja Group in the redevelopment of the iconic Old War Office building, as one of the most relevant projects for the political and social history of the United Kingdom. As a final note before closing his speech, Villar Mir underlined the importance of maintaining close historic, social, cultural and economic relations between the countries of Spain and the United Kingdom.
We would like to express our gratitude to our kind sponsors for the 129th AGM Dinner: our member Spanish Ham Master , who provided a ham for the drinks reception, and the Spanish Winery Leyenda del Páramo for providing the red and white wines for this exclusive event.
Finally, we would like to express our gratitude to all attendees for their participation in both the meeting at the premises of White & Case and the dinner at Drapers’ Hall. We are thankful for your notes of appreciation and support.
The full picture gallery of the evening can be browsed by clicking here.
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