Spanish Chamber of Commerce in the United Kingdom

Tag: networking event

  • A BRIEF RECAP OF THE CHAMBER’S EVENTS: JANUARY – AUGUST 2018

    A BRIEF RECAP OF THE CHAMBER’S EVENTS: JANUARY – AUGUST 2018


    The Spanish Chamber of Commerce in the United Kingdom’s main aim is to promote commercial exchange by acting as an important communication link between Spanish and British companies. The events organised by the Chamber enable both member and non-member companies to develop and expand their contact networks from both countries.

    2018 has been a unique year so far in that we have hosted our first ever sectorial event outside of London as well as our first Copa del Rey de Golf tournament, not to mention the introduction of a new event series: the Human Capital Forum. Read on to discover what the Chamber has been getting up to recently!


    The first half of 2018 has played host to an array of seminars that focused on personal development as well as topical and technical issues affecting a huge number of companies this year, such as GDPR and the gender pay gap. All five of our seminars have been great eye-openers and were well received by all; prompting a great deal of discussion and debate. Attendees always leave feeling more knowledgeable and motivated professionally and personally.

    The Chamber has organised three corporate events and one patron event so far in 2018. Our first one was a New Year’s Drinks Reception at Skinner’s Hall where the President of the Chamber had the opportunity to wish all member companies his best wishes for the New Year. We were honoured to welcome Rt Hon Greg Hands MP, Minister of State in the Department for International Trade, as Guest of Honour on this special occasion.

    The Annual Patrons’ Dinner was held in March at the Spanish Embassy and H.E. the Ambassador of Spain, Mr. Carlos Bastarreche Sagües, was our exceptional host for the evening. Before a three-course dinner, the President of the Chamber gave a special speech expressing his gratitude for the support that patrons provide to this institution as well as introducing the new patron companies that the Chamber has gained since last year’s dinner.

    In April, the Chamber celebrated its Annual Golden Award at the Spanish Embassy, an evening in which the Chamber acknowledges the significant commercial activity of a Spanish company in the United Kingdom during the previous year. This year, the award was given to Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF).

    Our most recent corporate event was the 131st Annual General Meeting and Dinner that took place in July at One Great George Street in Westminster. During the Annual General Meeting, the Secretary General of the Chamber presented the financial statements of 2017 along with a memorandum of the activities and events which the Chamber organised last year. On this occasion, we had the pleasure of welcoming the Rt Hon David Lidington CBE MP, Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster as our Guest of Honour.

    In February, the Chamber was delighted to hold its first sectorial event outside of London at the head office of Freeths LLP, a major UK law firm specialising in construction, energy and real estate, in Manchester. The event saw a great turnout of guests from at least 25 different companies from around the country. Representatives from the participating companies spoke about growth strategies for town centres in the north, revolutionising the construction industry via digitalisation and reasons to invest in the West Midlands.

    This marks the beginning of our efforts to carry out more sectorial events in different parts of the United Kingdom.

    IMG_5791

    The Chamber’s two Elevator Pitches have proven to be some of our most popular events of the year. Participation is limited to one representative per company and a maximum of 16 companies can attend, with no more than two companies from the same sector. Each participant has two minutes to give a concise presentation summarising their company’s activities. Following this, everyone has the opportunity to ask questions and learn more about each company followed by a late breakfast.

    We are always delighted to welcome a wide variety of companies to our Elevator Pitches and we consider it a fantastic way to help expand business networks in a short amount of time.

     

    2018 has also seen the launch of a brand new event series: the Human Capital Forum. Following a similar format to the Financial and Energy Forums, senior human resources professionals from member companies of the Chamber are brought together to discuss and debate ideas surrounding leadership, talent management and organisational development.

    The first meeting of the series explored how we can find happiness at work and the benefits of having a happy workforce, whereas the second focused on the changing face of recruitment owed to digitalisation. Participants of the forums have found them to be both thought provoking and of high relevance to their work.

    Our two Financial Forums welcomed Spanish professionals working in London’s financial centre. The main function of the forum is to create a space which promotes a dialogue and the exchange of ideas between peers surrounding financial matters relating to Spain and its companies. On these occasions, the forums were presided by two exceptional guests: Rt. Hon. Nicky Morgan MP, Chair of the Treasury Select Committee in June at White and Case’s offices and by Andrea Enria, president of the European Banking Authority at The Traveller’s Club in July.

    Taking place on a lovely summer’s evening, the Chamber held its first Mahou Informal Party of 2018 in collaboration with Mahou San Miguel and Ibérica Restaurants, patrons of the Chamber, who hosted the event at their outdoor restaurant in Canary Wharf. Being one of our most popular events, all places were quickly reserved and the evening proved to be a great success.

    In July, on an exceptionally hot and sunny day, the Chamber held its first Copa del Rey de Golf Tournament. With the attendance of H.E. the Ambassador of Spain, Mr. Carlos Bastarreche, this highly-anticipated event welcomed players from various member and non-member companies of all levels. Taking place at Studley Wood Golf Club, around 50 participants enjoyed an action-packed day of golf. There was also a clinic session for the golf novices, a generous buffet lunch, a prize giving ceremony and a charity raffle. All proceeds went to two wonderful charities; Cris Cancer and Centro Social de Mayores.

    The event certainly proved to be a great opportunity for participants to meet and connect with both fellow members of the Chamber and other companies represented, not to mention practising their swings, enjoying some fresh air, exercise and great company!

    Interested in seeing what other events we have lined up over the next few months? Click here to find out more!

  • MAHOU SUMMER PARTY

    MAHOU SUMMER PARTY

    On Monday 9th of July, we were delighted to hold our first Mahou Informal Party of 2018 in collaboration with Mahou San Miguel and Ibérica Restaurants, patrons of the Chamber, at their restaurant in Canary Wharf. The event was held on their beautiful Terraza, a unique outdoor bar and restaurant, which opens every spring for the whole summer period.

     

    London’s endless heatwave made way for a perfect, warm evening with brilliant open views of Canary Wharf’s sky scrapers. Over relaxed conversation, guests had the chance to catch up, establish new contacts and enjoy chilled Mahou beers accompanied by a wide range of delicious Spanish tapas. These included cold cuts, padrón peppers, homemade burger bites and churros con chocolate to polish off the evening. Ibérica is highly regarded for its carefully selected menu including traditional, elaborated Spanish dishes and fine wines.

    Mahou beer is one of Spain’s most prominent beer brands and has been a vital part of Madrid’s gastronomy culture for over 125 years.  It has a clean, refreshing flavour which makes it the ideal companion for Spanish cuisine on a warm, summer’s evening.

     

     

    We would like to thank everyone who attended this event and helped to make it such a wonderful evening, with a special mention to our sponsor for the event, Mahou San Miguel, for making it all possible.

    Click here to view the pictures of the event. If you missed the Mahou Party and would like to take part in the next one, keep an eye out for any announcements on our Upcoming Events section, active Twitter feed and in our fortnightly newsletter.

  • “Using social media data for business growth” seminar

    “Using social media data for business growth” seminar

    On the 23rd May 2018 we teamed up with social media marketing software provider and Chamber member Audiense to hold a seminar on how social media can contribute to business growth and development. This greatly popular seminar, which welcomed participants from both member and non-member companies and representing a variety of sectors, demonstrated the great value of social media to all businesses.

    The talk was led by Carlos Serra, Chief Operating Officer of Audiense. He began by explaining very briefly what the presentation would cover, including the key difference between engagement vs. presence on social media, the various social selling pillars and invaluable advice on how to successfully manipulate data received from social channels.

    1

    An important tip that Carlos highlighted was that of the basic social stack, in which he included 4 stages which utilise different (and mostly free) platforms: monitoring (using HootSuite and Ritetag), publishing content (using Buffer and Bitly), market research (using Facebook and Audiense) and promoting content to the right audience by use of Twitter advertisements and LinkedIn; for example. He recommended the use of RiteTag for instant hashtag suggestions for images and texts, which are based on real time hashtag engagement.

    He went on to describe a new approach to influencer marketing. This process has four key stages: to IDENTIFY the relevant domain and its audience, SEGMENT the audience in to smaller communities, ENGAGE at scale organically through advertising to create awareness and to go on to build an ‘influencer panel’ to UNDERSTAND the content and behaviours to tailor companies’ messages and develop campaigns.

    The presentation was both highly engaging and insightful, and throughout Carlos used the example of the social media channels of Forma 5; another member of the Chamber. He used their feeds to exemplify the hidden data which should be used to underpin company’s social media strategies, and more importantly, where to find this (mentioning Facebook ads and Twitter lists).

    AUD3

    The event was well received by all who attended, who enjoyed the opportunity to be actively engaged in the seminar. Following Carlos’ presentation, participants were able to ask any questions they had to clarify any doubts and to receive extra advice. After this, everyone had the chance to network and exchange opinions of the seminar over coffee and breakfast. It was clear that all had found it interesting and eye opening, and left inspired about how they could improve their social media marketing strategies.

    We would like to thank Audiense very much for collaborating with us on this seminar.

    To find out about further seminars and other networking events held by the Spanish Chamber, we encourage you to visit the Upcoming Events section of our website and also sign up to our fortnightly newsletter to keep informed about future Chamber activities.

  • Elevator Pitch XXXIV Edition

    Elevator Pitch XXXIV Edition

    The latest edition of our popular Elevator Pitch networking events was held on Tuesday 16th May at our patron Ibérica’s beautiful flagship London restaurant in Marylebone.

    On this occasion the event moderator was Abel Plasencia, International Trade Manager of the Spanish Chamber. After the guests had arrived and briefly met each other, before grabbing a coffee and taking their seats, Abel welcomed all participants to the event and explained the event format. As always, this is as follows:

    • Participation is limited to one representative per company and a maximum of 16 companies can take part in each edition.
    • Only two companies of the same sector can register for the event.
    • Each attendee has two minutes to explain the work of his company to the other participants. Following this, everyone can ask questions to their fellow participants about their companies. They then have the opportunity to network more informally and without the previous time constraints over a late breakfast.
    • Everyone leaves with a business card of each person who took part.

    This edition saw 12 companies from a variety of sectors taking part, both members and none members of the Spanish Chamber. These were the Mandeville Hotel (hotels and accommodation), Crescender (business consultancy services), Forma 5 (furniture manufacturers), Synergym (leisure and sports management), Ibérica (bar, restaurant and catering services), Continental Insurance & Mortgage Consultants (insurance), Jobandtalent (recruitment agency), Graziano Longo (banking and financial services), Trade Advisors Ltd (business consultancy services), C & C Bespoke Events (event management), Hacienda Villarta (wines and other alcoholic beverages), IE Business School (education, training and learning) and a freelance translator and marketer.

    The dialogue flowed very well in this event with many questions being asked, discussions which continued after the end of the Q&A session over the delicious breakfast provided by Ibérica, including popular Spanish dishes such as pan con tomate and tortilla.

    3

    We would like to thank all attendees who took part in this edition of the Elevator Pitch and hope that they found it profitable and as enjoyable as we did. We would also like to extend a very big thank you to our Patron member Ibérica for kindly hosting the event on this occasion and for providing such delectable catering, as always!

    If you have not yet participated in an Elevator Pitch event and are interested in doing so, we encourage you to keep an eye on our newsletter (released twice a month) as well as the UPCOMING EVENTS section of our website for information about the next one.

  • ELEVATOR PITCH XXXIII EDITION

    ELEVATOR PITCH XXXIII EDITION

    On Tuesday 2nd February we held the XXXIII edition of our Elevator Pitch networking event which on this occasion took place at the Chamber’s offices in central London.

    The event was chaired by Igor Urra, Secretary General at the Spanish Chamber, who began by explaining the format of the event:

    -Participation is limited to one representative per company and a maximum of 16 companies can take part in each edition.

    -Only two companies of the same sector can register for the event.

     

     

    -Each attendee has two minutes to explain the work of his company to the other participants. Following this, everyone has the opportunity to ask questions to their fellow participants about their companies. Attendees then are able to network more informally and without the previous time constraints over a late breakfast.

    On this occasion, a wide variety of sectors were represented among the 10 participating companies: Audiense (Communications, IT and Network), Babel (Business Consultancy Services), Desamianta (Construction), Diversitas Institute (Businness Consultancy Services), DLF (Transport of Good, Storage and Handling Goods), El Ibérico (Press and Publishing Services), Fastrack to Refocus (Coaching, Education, Training and Learning), Hotel Indigo Kensington (Hotels and Accommodation), Melia White House (Hotels and Accommodation), Stonehealth Clinic (Health).

     

     

    We would like to thank all attendees who took part in this edition of the Elevator Pitch and we hope that they found it profitable.

    If you have not yet participated in an Elevator Pitch event and are interested in doing so, we encourage you to keep an eye on our newsletter (released twice a month) as well as the UPCOMING EVENTS section of our website for information about the next one.

  • “Infrastructure and Procurement opportunities in the West” event with Freeths LLP

    “Infrastructure and Procurement opportunities in the West” event with Freeths LLP

    On Tuesday 6th February 2018 the Spanish Chamber of Commerce held an event titled “Infrastructure and Procurement Opportunities in the West” in collaboration with Freeths LLP; member of the Chamber. Freeths is a major UK law firm with 11 offices in key cities, specialising in construction, energy, real estate and planning. The event took place at the firm’s head office in Manchester and constituted the Chamber’s first event to take place outside of London, marking the start of our efforts to carry out more sectorial events in different parts of the United Kingdom.

    The event saw a great turn out of 30 guests from approximately 25 companies from sectors ranging from construction to engineering, with many having travelled from cities such as London, Birmingham and Darlington. After an early start, guests had the opportunity to meet each other over a coffee before being asked to take their seats. They were then welcomed to the event and a series of introductions were made by James Driver, Partner at Freeths, who explained the structure of the day’s event.

    Steve Burns, Head of Economic Development at Bolton Council, was then the first to speak. He spoke about the town’s ‘Bolton 2030’ strategy for growth which focuses on factors such as employment, health, business growth, housing, embracing a digital future and the Bolton Vision partnership. He spoke about the scheme’s challenges but also the opportunities it brings, including housing and employment growth, before going on to describe Bolton’s town centre framework and the recent investment in this.

    Martin Lawton of Blacc Consulting LLP spoke next on the topic of manufacture led construction. He began by introducing his firm and what they do, detailing how they are construction, project, programme and portfolio management specialists who have a great deal of industry experience. He then described Blacc’s vision for revolutionising the construction industry and the evolution of the modular assembly toolkit, before providing a variety of case studies; looking principally at the layout of schools.

    David Fisken, Head of Business Attraction at the West Midlands Growth Company was the next to speak. He spoke of the company’s 7 remit areas before giving an introduction to the West Midlands and their recent major developments. He then spoke of the firm’s regional economic plan and the transformational and enabling sectors that this involves, highlighting the vital importance of digital in this. He highlighted the opportunities with transport, energy, life sciences and healthcare, housing, the High Speed 2 project and transformational regeneration projects. He finished his talk by highlighting the main motivations for investing in the West Midlands, which include connectivity, its rich and growing talent pool and the fact that it is the most successful UK region for FDI.

    Following a coffee break in which guests had the opportunity to share their impressions of the speakers, Andris Bankovskis spoke on the subject of UK energy. He began by highlighting that the three objectives of UK energy policy are the security of supply, sustainability and least cost before going on to speak about new energy technology and the opportunities developing in refurbishment, smart technologies and waste management to name a few. He finally went on to speak about several of the current energy projects in the UK.

    The final speaker of the morning was Jason Richards, Partner at Freeths, who spoke about the legislative framework for Public Private Partnerships and the UK Organisational Structure. He described the key features of a PPP framework, giving examples, before speaking about the main features of the UK’s organisational framework. He finally spoke about the Five Case Model, touching on Brexit, before providing a summary of the issues faced by investors.

    Following the last talk the guests had the opportunity to network with each other over lunch. As the attendees discussed the talks it was clear to see that they had found them useful and highly insightful. The success of this event was promising and we look forward to organising more events of this nature in the future.

    If you would like to know more about this kind of events and others organised by the Chamber, do take a look at the Upcoming Events section of our website or subscribe to our electronic newsletter for biweekly updates.

     

  • ELEVATOR PITCH XXXII EDITION

    ELEVATOR PITCH XXXII EDITION

    On the morning of Thursday 30th November we hosted our most recent Elevator Pitch networking event, held in the stylish London office (based in Hammersmith) of Trison World, new patron of the Chamber. The event was chaired by Igor Urra, the Spanish Chamber’s Secretary General, who once all participants had taken their seats proceeded to explain the how event would work. The general format of the event is as follows:

    • One representative from each company is allowed to participate, with a maximum of 16 companies being able to take part. In addition, no more than two companies from the same sector can register for the event.
    • With something of a round table format, each participant begins by presenting their company and what they do to fellow guests, being given a maximum of two minutes to speak. Following this, each participant answers any questions other participants may have about their companies, before participants have a further chance to network more informally and without the previous time constraints over a late breakfast.

    This occasion saw 11 participants from a variety of sectors taking part: Buckles Solicitors (legal services),  Elastacloud (communications and IT networks), Global FDI (business consultancy services),  Trison World (audio visual integration), Melia White House Hotel (hotels and accommodation), Mishcon de Reya (legal services), Spanish Olive Oil School (education, training and learning), Sunfloret Translations (translation services), Synergym (leisure and sport management) and Your Architect London (architecture, interior design and engineering). Given that there were only 11 participants, the event was highly interactive with guests being able to learn a great deal about the other companies and explore potential routes for collaboration.

    We would very much like to thank all attendees who took part in this edition of the Elevator Pitch for having joined us, in particular a special thank you to Trison for hosting the session so successfully! Guests were even treated to a surprise following the main event, which saw them each being able to invent their own individual scent, inspired by different aspects of their personalities.

    If you have not yet participated in an Elevator Pitch event and are interested in doing so, keep an eye on our newsletter (released twice a month) as well as the UPCOMING EVENTS section of our website for information about the next one which will be held early in 2018.

  • ELEVATOR PITCH XXXI EDITION

    ELEVATOR PITCH XXXI EDITION

    On the morning of Tuesday 3rd October we hosted our most recent Elevator Pitch networking event, held in the modern and stylish London showroom (based near Old Street) of member company Actiu. The event was chaired by Igor Urra, the Spanish Chamber’s Secretary General, who once all participants had taken their seats proceeded to explain the how the event would work. The general format of the event is as follows:

    • One representative from each company is allowed to participate, with a maximum of 16 companies being able to take part. In addition, a no more than two companies from the same sector can register for the event.
    • With something of a round table format, each participant begins by presenting their company and what they do to fellow guests, being given a maximum of two minutes to speak. Following this, each participant answers any questions other participants may have about their companies, before participants have a further chance to network more informally and without the previous time constraints over a late breakfast.

    This occasion saw 12 participants from a variety of sectors taking part: The Caesar Hotel by Derby Hotels (hotel and accommodation),  Actiu Berbegal y Formas (office furniture), Roman y Asociados (public  relations), Trison Retail Services (audio visual integration),  F- Initiatives (financial consultants), Technorizon UK (IT consultants), Ana’s Croquetas (food), Haymarket Risk (consultancy), H10 Waterloo Hotel (Hotel and Accommodation), Develapps (mobile solutions), Banco Popular (Banking and Financial Services) and Qincho  (food sustainability consultants). Given that there were only 12 participants, the event was able to be highly interactive with guests being able to learn a great deal about the other companies and explore potential routes for collaboration.

    We would very much like to thank all attendees who took part in this edition of the Elevator Pitch for having joined us, in particular a special thank you to Actiu for hosting the session so tastefully!

    If you have not yet participated in an Elevator Pitch event and are interested in doing so, keep an eye on our newsletter (released twice a month) as well as the UPCOMING EVENTS section of our website for information about the next one that we will hold later this year.

  • MAHOU INFORMAL PARTY – FACING THE WINTER!

    On Wednesday 19th September, we had the pleasure of celebrating our second “Mahou Party” which was organised in collaboration with Mahou – San Miguel. On this occasion the event took place at MasQMenos, a restaurant in the Soho area, which provided the perfect backdrop for the evening.

    p1580977
    The venue allowed attendees to mingle in a relaxed setting

    This event was the second of a series of informal events organized in partnership with one of the Patrons of the Spanish Chamber, Mahou – San Miguel. The company is one of the most important Spanish brewers with a long tradition behind its back which they pair up with market innovations to be on the front foot of Spanish beer production.

    There is no a better way to face the winter than sharing one of Spain´s most renowned beers surrounded by great people. On this occasion, nearly 100 guests could share their thoughts about the brewer craft and escape the daily routine enjoying themselves after a hard day of work in a marvellous event.

    p1580779
    The event was organizing in partnership with Mahou- San Miguel, Patron of the Chamber.

    In an attempt to fight back a traditional London gloomy evening, the event was an opportunity to meet new members, catch up with old friends or expand one’s own network of professional contacts to explore synergies with them in a relaxed setting.

    We would like to thank everyone for sharing with us a nice evening, with a special mention to the sponsor of the event Mahou- San Miguel and their representatives for making possible this fantastic event. If you have missed this “Mahou Party”, you can still take part in the next one in November which will be announced shortly.

    p1590110
    Guests had the chance to escape the daily routine sharing a perfect beer.

    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.

  • ELEVATOR PITCH | XXVII EDITION

    On Tuesday 18th October we organised a new edition of our Elevator Pitch networking event, which was kindly hosted by Brindisa, member of the Chamber, at their restaurant Casa Brindisa.  The restaurant is conveniently located in the heart of South Kensington, steps away from the Natural History and Victoria & Albert Museums. Mr. Francisco José González, Marketing Assistant at Brindisa, was our host on the day and welcomed everyone on behalf of the restaurant.

    On this occasion the event was chaired by  Nerea Esgueva, Corporate Relations Manager, and Igor Urra, Secretary General, who started the event by explaining the dynamics of this activity to the participants.

    img_0505
    Everything was ready at Casa Brindisa to welcome the participants of the XXVII edition of our Elevator Pitch.

    For those of you who are not familiar with the Elevator Pitch format, here are the basic rules to bear in mind:

    -Only one participant per company is allowed and there is a maximum of 14 companies taking part in each edition.

    -Up to two companies from the same sector can take register for the event.

    -Each attendee has two minutes to explain the line of business and scope of the company he represents to the rest of participants.

    The reduced number of participants and the format makes this activity a highly interactive one, which aims at providing attendees with the opportunity to explore synergies and avenues of collaboration among them.

    After the round of introductions is over, each participant has an additional 2
    minutes slot to reply to questions made by any of the other attendees. Once the question round is finished, participants can further network without the previous time constrictions.

    img_0514
    Each participant has two minutes to introduce and give a concise overview of the company they represent.

    On this occasion, there was a wide variety of sectors represented among the 14 companies that took part in this edition: Banco Santander (Banking and Financial Services), Bargate Murray Solicitors (Legal Services), Brindisa (Restaurant and Catering Services), Cerveses Moritz (Beer Producers), Department for International Trade (Institutions), Espalink (Communications, IT and Networks), Licita UK (Business Consultancy Services), London Property Partners (Estate Agency), Millennium Hotel London Mayfair (Hotel), Moneycorp (Foreign Exchange), Netex UK (Education and Training), Norak Group (Translation Services), SIS International (Business Consultancy Services), Stone King (Legal Services).

    We would very much like to thank all attendees who took part in this edition of the Elevator Pitch for having joined us. Special thanks to Casa Brindisa for kindly hosting this activity and for providing a delicious Spanish-style breakfast.

    If you have not joined us yet for any of our Elevator Pitch events in 2016, keep an eye on our weekly newsletter as you will have a new chance to participate in the upcoming December edition, which will be the last of the year.

    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.

     

Este sitio web utiliza cookies para que usted tenga la mejor experiencia de usuario. Si continúa navegando está dando su consentimiento para la aceptación de las mencionadas cookies y la aceptación de nuestra política de cookies, pinche el enlace para mayor información.plugin cookies

ACEPTAR
Aviso de cookies