The Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain celebrated its Annual Golden Award on the 12TH April at the Spanish Embassy in London. This is one of the main corporate events that the Chamber organises each year and acknowledges the significant commercial activity of a Spanish company in the United Kingdom during the previous year.
This year the company who received the award was CAF, Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles, a leader in the railway industry with a workforce of approximately 8,500 people. Mr. Andrés Arizkorreta, President of CAF, received the award on behalf of the company and express his gratitude for this recognition.
The event began with the Ambassador H.E. Mr. Carlos Bastarreche, who is also the Honorary President of the Spanish Chamber, welcoming the attendees and congratulating CAF for their outstanding activity in the UK.
Following his speech, the President of the Chamber, Mr. Javier San Basilio, introduced the awarded company and provided further information about the achievements of CAF in the UK, which began in 1994 when they won the contract to manufacture Heathrow Express trains. Since then they have worked on large scale projects such as the diesel trains for Northern Ireland Railways and the tram networks in Edinburgh and Birmingham.
Mr. Arizkorreta shared with attendees his feelings of gratitude for receiving such an important recognition for the outstanding work of CAF and its international strategy, which has led up to them currently working with Arriva, First Group, Serco and West Midland Trains for the provision and maintenance of new trains that will operate on various routes covering the north of the country.
He recounted that last year CAF acquired the prestigious British engineering firm BWB Consulting, which has enabled them to establish their presence in the UK as a trusted provider within the transport sector.
Approximately 200 guests were present at the event, representing member companies from both Spain and the UK. This was a great opportunity for all of them to expand their networks and meet new professionals from the Anglo-Spanish business community in an environment as the Embassy.
We take this opportunity to thank our kind sponsors on this special occasion. We are grateful to our patrons Ibérica Restaurants and Raventós Codorníu for providing the ibérico ham and the cava; to benefactor Estrella Galicia for the beers served at the event and finally, to our member Marqués de Cáceres for providing the wines.
Finally, we would also like to thank our members for joining us on this very special occasion.
We encourage you to browse the UPCOMING EVENTS section of our website in order to keep up to date with future Spanish Chamber corporate events, seminars and other activities.
On Tuesday 12th April the Spanish Chamber of Commerce will hold its Annual Golden Award event at the Spanish Embassy.
The Annual Golden Award is one of our most important corporate events of the year which identifies a Spanish company with a presence in the UK whose performance in the previous year has been outstanding. This year CAF will receive this recognition for their remarkable achievements over the course of 2017. Mr. Andrés Arizkorreta, President of the company, will be present at the event to receive the award.
With over 100 years since its establishment, CAF has been operating in the UK since 1994 when it won the contract to manufacture Heathrow Express trains. Since then they have worked on large scale projects such as the diesel trains for the NIR and the tram networks in Edinburgh and Birmingham. The firm is currently working with Arriva, First Group, Serco and West Midland Trains for the provision and maintenance of new trains that will operate on various routes covering the north of the country.
Last year CAF acquired the prestigious British engineering firm BWB Consulting, which has enabled them to establish their presence in the UK as a trusted provider within the transport sector. They are currently building a new factory in Newport (Wales) which will begin operations later this year.
CAF is a multinational firm which manufactures trains and conducts feasibility studies, civil works, electrification, signalising and maintenance and system operations. The company boasts a workforce of 8,500 people across their main factories in Beasáin, Zaragoza Irún, Castejón and Linares; as well as others in the USA, Mexico, Brazil, France and the UK.
In addition, CAF’s sales reached 1,447 million euros in 2017 and they achieved a net profit of 42.5 million euros. Moreover, the firm has undertaken projects in over 35 countries including providing metro units in Washington, Rome, Mexico City, Bucharest and Sao Paulo; as well as trams in Belgrade, Edinburgh, Nantes, Sydney and Stockholm. They have also fabricated diesel and commuter trains in the UK, Ireland, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia and the USA and high speed trains in Turkey and Norway.
Finally, in Spain CAF is one of the most prominent providers within the Red Nacional de Ferrocarriles Españoles (RENFE), providing metro units, trams and the latest innovative trains to cities including Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Bilbao, Zaragoza, Vitoria, Palma de Mallorca, Malaga and Granada.
We would like to thank our Patron Ibérica Restaurants and our Benefactor Estrella Galicia for kindly providing the ibérico ham and the beer that will be enjoyed during the ceremony.
This event is exclusively for members of the Spanish Chamber. For further information about this award and to find out more about the activities that we organise for Chamber members, we encourage you to visit the UPCOMING EVENTS section of our website and our WordPress blog.
On Tuesday 4th April the Spanish Chamber of Commerce will hold a brand new edition of the Annual Golden Award at the Spanish Embassy.
The Annual Golden Award is one of our main corporate events which acknowledge a Spanish company in the UK whose performance in the last year has been outstanding.
This year BANCO SABADELL will be receiving this recognition for their remarkable achievements during 2016. Mr. Josep Oliu Creus, President of the group, will attend the event to receive the award.
The Embassy of Spain will welcome our members on occasion of the Annual Golden Award.
With 135 years of history, Banco Sabadell leads Spain’s fourth largest banking group and is one of the best capitalized Spanish financial institutions. Banco Sabadell has assets in excess of 212 billion euros, a network of more than 2,700 branches, and the trust of more than 11 million customers.
In 2015, after the acquisition of TSB, Banco Sabadell paved the way for playing in the premier league of British financial institutions, putting TSB in the spotlight after the impressive results achieved at the end of 2016, the first one in which TSB was fully part of Sabadell group.
We take this opportunity to thank our kind sponsors on this special occasion. We are grateful to our member Brindisa for kindly providing an iberico ham and selection of cheeses and to our Patron Mahou-San Miguel for sponsoring the Alhambra beers that guests will enjoy at the event.
Special thanks to Leyenda del Páramo for their generous support sponsoring the wines that will be served during the evening.
This event is by invitation only for members of the Spanish Chamber. For further information, about this award and to know more about the activities we organise for our associates, do not miss the opportunity to visit our UPCOMING EVENTS section and our blog.
On Tuesday 28th March the Spanish Chamber organised the Annual Patrons’ Dinner. The event was held at the Spanish Embassy and H.E. the Ambassador of Spain Mr. Carlos Bastarreche Sagües was our exceptional host for the evening. This event allowed our Patrons to meet the newly appointed Ambassador in a relaxed and intimate dinner.
The main dining room was perfectly set up for the traditional Annual Patrons’ Dinner.
Our guests were welcomed with a selection of canapés that they could enjoy while tasting the selection of cava and wine, which was kindly sponsored by our Patron Codorníu Raventós, as well as beers kindly provided by our Patron Mahou-San Miguel during the pre-dinner reception. This was the perfect opportunity for new Patrons to introduce themselves and get acquainted with the rest of representatives in attendance.
After the reception, Patrons proceeded to the dining area to take their seats and get ready to enjoy a three-course dinner which consisted of avocado salad with braised tomatoes, beef Wellington with potatoes and bacon millefeuille, and finally chocolate mousse with almond croquant.
Before dinner was served Mr. Javier San Basilio, President of the Spanish Chamber, opened the evening with a special speech expressing his gratitude for the support that Patrons provide to this institution and warmly thanked the Ambassador for kindly welcoming the Patrons on his first event with the Spanish Chamber.
The traditional dinner allowed new Patrons to get acquainted with the rest of companies within this membership category.
He also mentioned the new Patrons that the Chamber has gained since the last year’s dinner which were: CaixaBank, CLH -PS, Gestamp, Indra, and OHL Desarrollos. Furthermore, he took the opportunity to remind attendees of this year’s Annual Golden Award which would take place the following week, on Tuesday 4th April, again at the Embassy.
Mr. Javier San Basilio, President of the Spanish Chamber, thanked Patrons for their cotinuous support.
After the President, it was the turn of H.E. the Ambassador Mr. Carlos Bastarreche Sagües, who began his speech by thanking the Spanish Chamber for the organisation and gave an overview of the current economic and political situation in the UK and Spain in the context of Brexit, and the role Spain may play in Europe in the near future. As he mentioned, the link between the two countries is stronger than ever, with the UK currently being the first destination for Spanish investments.
H.E. Mr. Carlos Bastarreche Sagües during his address to the Patrons.
After the speeches, it was time for guests to enjoy the dinner and later to move on to the main reception room, where coffee and petit fours were served. Attendees enjoyed thus the end of the event in a comfortable atmosphere and could exchange impressions with the Ambassador and the President of the Chamber. This was the perfect closure for this exclusive gathering.
Patrons had the opportunity to enjoy the grand and relaxed atmosphere of this exclusive event.
We would like to thank our Patron Codorníu Raventós for their generous support providing the wines and cava served during the event and also special thanks to our Patron Mahou-San Miguel for kindly sponsoring the beer at this special evening.
Finally, we are grateful to our Patrons for their attendance and we look forward to seeing them at the next Patrons’Event.
If you would like to be updated on forthcoming activities, do not hesitate to sign up for our weekly newsletter. Alternatively, you can also check out our event in the UPCOMING EVENTS section within our website.
The Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain celebrated its Annual Golden Award on 21st April at the Spanish Embassy in London.
The Annual Golden Award is one of the main corporate events of the Spanish Chamber that acknowledges the significant commercial activity of a Spanish company in the United Kingdom during the previous year. On this occasion, the awarded company was CLH, a leading company in Spain for oil product transportation and storage and one of the largest private companies in its sector at an international level. Mr. José Luis López Silanes, President of CLH, received the award on behalf of the company and conveyed his gratitude for this recognition.
From left to right: H.E. the Ambassador of Spain, Mr. Federico Trillo-Figueroa, Mr. Javier San Basilio, President of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in GB and Mr. José Luis López Silanes, President of CLH.
Mr. López Silanes shared his feelings towards this award as he felt it a very important recognition to the extraordinary work of the company which was created following the privatisation of the Government Pipeline and Storage System (GPSS).
He announced that the group has launched an important investment programme to enhance asset efficiency in the British market and shared that one of the main objectives of their new investment plan would be to facilitate the oil product transportation in the GPSS network.
In his words, this award represents the significant effort made by each member of the company to carry out this transaction, which has made it possible to increase by 50% the oil pipeline network that CLH manages.
Mr. José Luis López Silanes thanked the Spanish Chamber for this award in the name of CLH.
We had the pleasure to count on more than 200 guests on the evening, representing member companies from both Spain and the UK. All these members who decided to join us on this special occasion enjoyed the opportunity to extend their network and interact with professionals from the Anglo-Spanish business community.
Furthermore, we would like to express our gratitude to D. O. Utiel-Requena for their generous contribution by kindly providing a selection of their finest wines for this exceptional evening at the Embassy.
A selection of the wines provided by Utiel-Requena, our wine sponsor for the event.
Likewise, we would like to express our gratitude to Mahou San Miguel, Patron of the Chamber, which provided a selection of beers for this occasion.
Mahou San Miguel, Patron of the Chamber, provided the beers for this event.
Finally, we would like to take this opportunity to thank our members for joining us on this special evening with us. You can all enjoy now a selection of the best moments of the evening by visiting the picture gallery of the Annual Golden Award 2016.
Attendees to the event had the opportunity to reconnect with other members and colleagues.
If you missed this event or simply want to know what we are up to next, please browse the UPCOMING EVENTS section on our website or subscribe to our newsletter for weekly updates.
On Thursday 21st April the Spanish Chamber of Commerce will hold the Annual Golden Award at the Spanish Embassy.
The Annual Golden Award is one of our main corporate events which acknowledges a Spanish company in the UK whose performance in the last year has been outstanding.
On this occasion, the awarded company will be CLH, a leading company in Spain for oil product transportation and storage and one of the largest private companies in its sector at an international level. Mr. José Luis López Silanes, President of the group, will attend the event to receive the award.
The Annual Golden Award, which is held at the Spanish Embassy in London, is a unique opportunity to extend the contact network in the Anglo-Spanish business community.
This event is by invitation only for members of the Spanish Chamber. For further information, about this award and to know more about the activities we organise for our associates, do not miss the opportunity to visit our UPCOMING EVENTS section and our blog.
We are looking forward to seeing all our members there.
The intense year of 2015 is coming to an end and so it is time to wish you all the very best for the coming 2016.
But before that, we could not think of a better way to say goodbye to 2015 than inviting you to our Informal Christmas Party on 8th December at the Dry Martini Bar, at Meliá White House, member of the Chamber. It will be the perfect location to wrap up this year in a good holiday mood. If you have not registered yet, please click here to access the registration form. Hurry up as places are going fast!
It’s worth remembering some of the events that have marked this exciting 2015, so let’s do a short recap;
As always, our first corporate event was the New Year’s Drinks Reception, which was hosted at the Four Seasons Hotel at Park Lane, member of the Chamber. This was the perfect setting to start a year full of networking activities for our members.
Later on, in April, we hosted our Annual Golden Award, one of the highlights of our diary, which acknowledges the significant commercial activity of a Spanish company in the United Kingdom. On this occasion, the awarded company was Codorníu, a Spanish family wine and cava producer.
Mrs. María del Mar Raventós, President of Codorníu, receiving the Annual Golden Award at the Spanish Embassy in London.
Not long after, we held our 128th Annual General Meeting, one of the most important events of our institution which is devoted to providing our members with an open account of the Chamber’s activities and events in order to promote the bilateral relationship between Spain and the United Kingdom. The Guest of Honour, Mr. Luis Gallego, President and CEO of Iberia, shared with the 200 attendees his insights on the airline sector as well as the achievements of the Spanish company over the past 5 years.
Our Guest of Honour, Mr. Luis Gallego, President and CEO of Iberia, during his speech at The Royal Automobile Club.
Aside from our big corporate events, we have organised a wide range of seminars, talks, and informal events, such as the International Wine & Spirits Tasting, which is organised every year by different Chambers of Commerce in London, several editions of the ever successful Elevator Pitch, and an Afternoon Tea to discuss etiquette and protocol, a few events that proved very popular among our members.
As usual, a new Edition of our Graduate European Programme kicked off once more in September. This time, the XVII Edition of the programme welcomed 12 participants who will carry- out work experience at London-based companies over a 6 month period.
Attendees enjoying a traditional afternoon tea at The Bentley London Hotel.
Apart from our regular activities and some new formats, there has been a number of interesting collaborations with different organisations throughout the year.
One of them was the evening talk organised by the Council of Ibero American Chambers in the UK (CIAC), which was attended by Mr. Adolfo Suárez Illana, International President of ONTIER. The event provided an overview on risks and opportunities for foreign investors when entering the Latin American market.
Mr. Adolfo Suárez Illana (third from the left) among the speakers of the CIAC event in March.
We also had the pleasure to support the British Chamber of Commerce in Spain in the organisation of their first London event: the presentation of the Barometer on Climate and Outlook for British Investment in Spain, which counted on the attendance of high-profile speakers.
Our Foreign Trade department has also been bustling with activity throughout the year as we helped companies to enter the British or Spanish market and took part in initiatives to promote bilateral trade relations. To begin with, we were present at the Going Global Live 2015 exhibition to introduce current trade and investment opportunities in Spain and meet with like-minded professionals.
Jesús Agra (R), our Foreign Trade Manager, with Mr. Pablo López (L) from the International Department of A Coruña Chamber of Commerce during one of the trade missions that took place in September.
We have also visited Spain several times to develop and strengthen partnerships with local Chambers of Commerce and regional institutions in order to support companies on their mission to enter the UK market. Among these actions, we would like to highlight the agreements signed with the Girona Chamber of Commerce, Cantabria Chamber of Commerce and ASTUREX, the Regional Development Agency for Asturias.
It is also worth mentioning that our President, Javier Fernández Hidalgo, was in attendance at the ceremony organised by FEDECOM -the association that represents our Chamber of Commerce- and where NH Hotel Group received the 2015 Company of the Year award.
Mr. Javier Fernández Hidalgo, President of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain (second from the left) attending FEDECOM awards.
And that’s not all. To round off a great year, we would like to make the most of this occasion to highlight the initiatives we have developed to continue connecting people & businesses with the launch of a Private Area for Members. We would also like to thank all the companies that have joined our institution as members and especially Codorníu Raventós, Ernst & Young, Grange Hotels, Konecta UK, Lloyds Bank and Telefonica Digital, new Patrons of the Chamber in this 2015.
As a final remark, we would like to thank all of our members which have made the events over the last year such a success. We are already working on the activities for 2016 and we hope to see you very soon in one of them.
In the meantime, we look forward to seeing you at our Informal Christmas Party on Tuesday 8th December. Don’t miss the opportunity to join us and end 2015 surrounded by fellow members!
The Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain celebrated its Annual Golden Award on 28th April at the Spanish Embassy in London.
The Annual Golden Award is one of the main corporate events of the Spanish Chamber that acknowledges the significant commercial activity of a Spanish company in the United Kingdom during the previous year. On this occasion, the awarded company was Codorníu, a Spanish family wine and cava producer with almost five centuries of history. Mrs. María del Mar Raventós, President of the Company, received the award on behalf of the company and conveyed her gratitude for this recognition.
From left to right: H.E. the Ambassador of Spain, Mr. Federico Trillo, welcoming all attendees to the Spanish Embassy; Mrs. María del Mar Raventós, President of Codorníu and Mr. Javier Fernández, President of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in GB.
The award was presented by H.E. the Ambassador of Spain, Mr. Federico Trillo-Figueroa, who greeted Mrs. María del Mar Raventós during his welcome speech. The President of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Javier Fernández Hidalgo, highlighted the milestones of tradition in Codorníu’s lifetime, being the oldest company in Spain and one of the oldest in the world. Likewise, he took the opportunity to announce our most recent patron, Ernst & Young, and reminded our members that we will be celebrating our Annual General Meeting on 16th June. He thanked all the attendees and sponsors for their kind support and presence then he presented the award to the President of Codorníu, who also wanted to extend a word of thanks.
Mrs. María del Mar Raventós holding the Annual Golden Award 2014, accompanied by Mr. Javier Fernández (left) and Mr. Federico Trillo (right).
Mrs. Raventós shared her feelings towards this award as she felt it a very important recognition to the work of the company and all the family members involved in the business (593 members nowadays) since 1555, the year of the foundation of the company by Jaume de Codorníu. She briefly went through the family story that surrounds this brand and mentioned that each member would be proud of receiving this prize; it represented a boost to their company, to keep selling and growing in new markets.
Mrs. María del Mar Raventós thanked the Spanish Chamber for this award in the name of the whole family of Codorníu.
We had the pleasure to count on more than 200 guests on the evening, representing member companies from both Spain and the UK. All these members who decided to join us on this special occasion enjoyed the opportunity to extend their network and interact with professionals from the Anglo-Spanish business community.
Furthermore, thanks to our member Lolo Investments Ltd, which operates under the brand of Viandas de Salamanca, curtesy of them our attendees had a unique culinary experience with an excellent tasting of several Iberian products such as Iberian ham and other cured meats.
Viandas de Salamanca and Codorníu kindly sponsored this event.
We would like to extend our gratitude to Viandas de Salamanca as well as to Codorníu, the protagonist of the event, for their support and contribution to make this evening a great gathering by kindly sponsoring our Annual Golden Award. Codorníu provided a selection of their finest wine and cava that suited perfectly to match both the Iberian selection and the canapés served from the kitchen of the Spanish Embassy.
More than 200 attendees decided to join us on this special occasion.
Likewise, we would like to take this opportunity to thank the Spanish Embassy for warmly hosting this event as well as all attendees that decided to share this special evening with us. You can all enjoy now a selection of the best moments of the evening by visiting the gallery of the Annual Golden Award 2015.
If you missed this event or simply want to know what we are up to next, please browse the UPCOMING EVENTS section on our website or subscribe to our electronic newsletter for weekly updates here. Get ready as May is coming full of activity!
The Spanish Chamber of Commerce held its Annual Golden Award on 24th April at the Spanish Embassy in London.
The Annual Golden Award acknowledges a Spanish company in the UK whose performance in the last year has been outstanding. On this occasion, the awarded company was Aena Aeropuertos. Mr. José Manuel Vargas, President of the Company, received the award on behalf of the company and conveyed his gratitude for this recognition.
From left to right: The President of the Spanish Chamber in Great Britain, Mr. Javier Fernandez, Mr. José Manuel Vargas, President of Aena Aeropuertos, and the Ambassador of Spain Mr. Federico Trillo-Figueroa.
The award was presented by H.E. the Ambassador of Spain, Mr. Federico Trillo-Figueroa, who showed his congratulations to Mr. José Manuel Vargas during his welcome speech. The President of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain, Mr. Javier Fernández Hidalgo, pointed out in his speech the relevant role Aena Aeropuertos has played in the last year. Aena signed the purchase agreement of London Luton airport –the UK’s 5th largest airport with 9.7 million passengers in 2013- with Ardian. Mr Javier Fernandez took the opportunity to also welcome Aena Aeropuertos as a new Patron of the Spanish Chamber.
The President of the Spanish Chamber, Mr. Javier Fernandez during his speech at the Spanish Embassy.
Mr. José Manuel Vargas, President of Aena Aeropuertos, addressed attendees and discussed the importance of the British market for his company. He also mentioned, Luton Airport is an extraordinary showcase for Aena Aeropuertos to display its outstanding capacities as an airport operator on a project outside of Spain.
The event was attended by nearly 200 guests, representing member companies from both Spanish and British origin. As usual, this activity helped members to extend their network and provided an excellent opportunity to interact with professionals from the Anglo-Spanish business community.
Attendees enjoyed the cocktail during the event.
On such a special occasion our attendees could taste a delicious 5j’s iberico ham, kindly provided by Spanish Ham Master. Mr. Jose Sol, founder of the company, was in attendance to carve at the event and offer our guests further information about this exceptional product.
We take this opportunity to thank him and all those who joined us at the event. We would also like to congratulate Aena once again for this award.
Our guests had the opportunity to taste a 5J’s Spanish ham provided by José Sol from Spanish Ham Master.
If you missed this event or simply want to know what we are up to next, please browse the UPCOMING EVENTS section on our website or subscribe to our electronic newsletter for weekly updates.
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.
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