Spanish Chamber of Commerce in the United Kingdom

Tag: Spanish Chamber of Commerce

  • Annual Roundup of 2012

    The exceptional Jubilee year of 2012 is coming to its end and it is time to look back and go through these past months of intense activity.

    The year was opened, as usual, with our New Years Drinks Reception in January. This hallmarked the start of a year of renewed focus in delivering events, training and commercial agendas for the benefit of our members.

    Regent Street Lights 8
    It’s that time of the year in London, when Christmas comes crackling into life with fireworks and miles of decorative lights.

    In April, we named the winner of our Annual Golden Award as being MAPFRE, a Spanish company recognised as making a significant impact within the UK market over the previous year. Not long after, we held our Annual General Meeting ,  which was devoted to providing our members with an open account of the Chamber’s activities & statistics, in order to contrast its successes with the year before. What followed was a formal dinner, presided by the Ambassador of Spain, and with our Guest of Honor being Ms. Tamara Rojo, the internationally acclaimed ballerina who had just been appointed as the Artistic Director of the English National Ballet.

    To round off the year was the largest event of our calendar, the Annual Gala Dinner which this year counted on the presence of Mr. José Manuel Soria,  Spanish Minister for Trade, Energy & Tourism. All of these landmark formal events speak of the ability of which the Chamber is able to bring its members together on a diverse, inclusive and grande scale. But this isn’t the whole story.

    JF_SCC_Golden_Award_25th_April_2012-(111-of-137)
    Our Annual Golden Award  was hosted at the Spanish Embassy.

    The Chamber has run over 50 events in the past year, from training workshops and networking seminars, to collaborative member events and informal parties. All, we hope, have been thoroughly enjoyed by our members, as their continually high levels of demand suggests. We have also worked with LSE Enterprise, Patrons of the Chamber, to provide a series of talks with high profile speakers, including  Mr. Antonio Vázquez, Chairman of Iberia, Mr. Álex Cruz, CEO of Vueling, and Mr. Pedro J. Ramírez, Editorial Director of Unidad Editorial.

    We have also laid on exclusive events with our Patrons, for which we have created the Patrons’ Club which this year has included different activities with high-profile speakers such as Mr. Varel Freeman, Vice-President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; Mr. John Cridland, Director-General of the CBI; and Mr. Jaime García-Legaz, Secretary of State for Foreign Trade.

    We have nurtured new talent, too. The XIV Edition of our Graduate European Programme took off in September and welcomed 14 participants that will be carrying out work-experience at London-based companies for 6 months. At the same time, they will be attending different commercial workshops and English lessons on business to help compliment their professional placements.

    IMG_0378
    One of our many informative seminars to have taken place at the Spanish Chamber premises this year.

    To end our calendar, it was our great pleasure to celebrate this fantastic year with our ever-popular Informal Christmas Party, which took place on the King’s Road, last week. The event was kindly sponsored by Beefeater 24, meaning that the G&T’s were being enjoyed by our enthusiastic guests long into the night – saying fairwell to an active past year in style.

    As a final remark, we’d like to thank all of our members and attendees which have made the events over the last year such a success. With more in-depth news on the various trade partnerships and commercial opportunities which were successfully cultivated over the past year, please do have a browse of our earlier blog posts. Beyond that, we only wish to say that we are looking forward to working with you, and new companies on the scene, next year!

  • Best Practices Seminar for Spanish Companies in the UK – Fourth Edition

     The Spanish Chamber of Commerce was thrilled to once again work with  London & Partners and the Economic & Commercial Office of the Spanish Embassy in the organisation of the IV edition of the “Best Practices Seminar for Spanish Companies Doing Business in/ with the UK”, a high-calibre half-day event for Spanish companies which have recently arrived in the UK or are planning to set up their business activity here in the near future.

    The event provided a general overview on the vital aspects of consideration needed when opening a branch or a subsidiary in the country, such as tax regulations, the need for legal advice, the diversity of recruitment options, how important it is to get public relations right and, finally, banking in the UK.

    The event was hosted by London & Partners at its offices overlooking one of the world’s most famous views.

    The event kicked off with warm welcomes by representatives of the three organising institutions, Ms. María Corts from L&P, Ms. Cristina Carmona from the Chamber, and Ms. Teresa González from the Economic & Commercial Office. They aimed to highlight the ways in which their respective organisations are there to support Spanish companies that have recently arrived in the UK, or anticipate to do so.

    Proceedings then got into full swing, with attendees soaking up a rich pool of knowledge about which advantages, and pitfalls, should be looked out for when expanding Spanish commercial interests in the British environment.

    Just before formalities ended, an interactive panel debate took place involving Mr. Juan Urdiales (Cofounder of JobandTalent) and Mr. Philippe Gelis (CEO of Kantox PeerFx). The design of this section was based on these two comapnies’ experience of intergrating into the British market over the past year, and it provided an excellent platform by which to involve our attendees in a lively exchange of pragmatic ideas.

    Out networking lunch was a great chance to reflect on the day.

    The event climaxed with a relaxed networking lunch, with speakers and attendees alike able to mingle, share thoughts, and to make those all-so-important business contacts which help frame every commercial success story.

    The Chamber would like to thank all involved, particularly London & Partners for hosting the event at their premises. For more news and commentary of Chamber events, seminars and announcements, please do subscribe to our blog.

  • What can the Chamber do for you?

    Dear Member,

    It is quite likely you have asked yourself this question in the early stages or your membership or prior to joining our institution. Maybe even after becoming a member.

    For some of you it may have been clear from the beginning: having access to a highly varied network of both British and Spanish businesses from a wide range of professional sectors. Others may favour the institutional visibility provided by the status of becoming a Patron of our institution, while some others may have decided to join simply because they want to be part of the big family that the Chamber has become since its foundation back in 1886. Needless to say it has grown to have quite a lot relatives over the years.

    Whatever your reason for joining, members expect to make the most of their membership, which honestly is fair enough. So with this in mind, we would like to remind you that at the Spanish Chamber there is always something for everyone according to their specific needs.

    So what’s in it for members in terms of …

    Events and Networking

    We may be a small team, but we try not to let this hold us back from planning an ever growing calendar of events with a wide range of formats, and with over 50 activities per year each member can find the right one for them.

    In addition to our own activities, we collaborate with other institutions and foreign Chambers from time to time in order to increase the events on offer for our associates, allowing them to have access to an even bigger professional network.

    We also offer companies the possibility to increase their brand awareness by sponsoring some of our activities, and to organise events in collaboration with us – and so it is in this capacity that we encourage partners to get in contact with us should they wish to explore scope for working together on an event. Our Events and Communication team will be happy to assist and help you choose the right format for your specific needs.

    If you have never attended our events or do so very rarely, we strongly recommend that you try to take part in them – if for nothing else than to meet new members and to catch up with old ones. We are in attendance to all the activities that we organise, so it will be our pleasure to welcome you whether it is the first time you attend them or not.

    Although they all followed the instructors’ explanations very carefully, none were able to figure out when the “drinks bit” actually started

    Trade and Commercial Services

    The Chamber does not live on networking events only, and so if you are looking to explore new business opportunities and seek to approach potential new clients or professional partners, our Foreign Trade Department has the right tools to assess specific commercial strategies suitable to your company.

    From individual commercial agendas to multi -sector trade missions, the department covers different scenarios to ensure each business can find the adequate means to explore possible avenues of collaboration in the British or Spanish markets, providing guidance and information throughout the process.

    Other services

    We are always looking to improve the membership experience we offer to our associates and with that in mind we have created different sections on our website to allow members to interact with each other. For instance, did you know we have a dedicated M2M (Members-to-Members) section where associated companies can advertise exclusive offers and promotions for other members? Or that you can promote the activities you organise via our Members’ Events section?

    We have also created a Spanish Chamber of Commerce group in LinkedIn so our members can share and exchange information, create discussion groups, or simply network online if you cannot always make it to our events. We know you prefer the real thing but as the saying goes “half a loaf is better than none”.

    In addition to the above, if you have any questions, suggestions or ideas you would like to share with us, do not hesitate to contact us. We will be more than happy to hear what our members have to say to help us grow and improve as an institution.

    And as the big family the Chamber has grown to be, it is just worth remembering that we are also here to give a helping hand. So next time you are in doubt whether we can be of assistance, just let us know.

  • Voice Training – The secret of speaking better English

    What makes up an accent?

    Last Tuesday we have had the pleasure of hosting a dynamic Seminar at the Spanish Chamber premises; a Voice Training session conducted by voice & communication skills coach, Ms. Dolly May, from The London School of English, member of the Chamber.

    The seminar was aimed at Spaniards that wished to improve their English, and in particular, the clarity of their accent. Inversely however, the greatest lesson our attendees took from this master class was that your accent need not change in order to speak better English – and Ms. May made this point very clearly.

    Ms. Dolly May, accent coach from The London School of English

    Thus, this event has allowed our participants to discover the steps to achieve coherent oration through different exercises of improving ones diction. In an inclusive and fluid way, Ms. May showed the attendees how intonation, rhythm, melody and speed are the foundation of every accent. Some of the exercises consisted of identifying which words were “key” within a sentence – emphasising them so as to pass on our intended message to the listener.

    The seminar was broad & dynamic, and attendees took an active part within the whole session by sharing their thoughts and asking some interesting questions.

    Similarly, participants learnt that clarity and sharpness are both used to express our ideas in a way that makes our audience more engaged to the content of what we are saying, minimising the need for them to then stop and interpret in a way which ultimately becomes a hassle to both parties.

    In conclusion, this seminar was a great opportunity for our participants to develop their command over spoken English. The positive exchange of speaking techniques seems to have left everyone involved with a heightened sense of how to express personal & professional oration.

    This has not been the first – and certainly will not be the last – of these sessions! We encourage you to keep an eye on our UPCOMING EVENTS section in our website, or to subscribe to our weekly newsletter, so as to be up to date with our activities!

  • A New Agreement Between the Chamber and SMEs in Alicante

    We are pleased to announce that this past Wednesday, 7th of November 2012, a new partnership was affirmed within the London premises of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain.

    It has taken effect between the Chamber – under the direction of the new President, Javier Fernández Hidalgo – and the Spanish Confederation of Small and Medium Businesses of Alicante, CEPYME, under the direction of Cristóbal Navarro (also acting as the representative for the Chamber of Commerce, Industry & Maritime Trade of Alicante).

    The significance of this agreement, already held with various local Chambers of Commerce and Confederations of Business Industries, is to promote the network of the SMEs contained within these entities that have begun their journey of associating with the UK market, or those that are about to. To this end, this agreement is aimed at facilitating the effectiveness these types of businesses in providing them access to one of the main trade promotion services of the Chamber; scouting for suitable potential commercial clients in Britain, in conjunction with a feasibility study, as a way of advancing that company’s outreach to the UK market.

    The principal beneficiaries of this agreement are undoubtedly SMEs, which have been operating within an unfavourable economic climate in recent years, insofar as it enables them to promote their products and services in the UK whilst enjoying a 40% discount on the normal price of initiating a Commercial Agenda of this type with the Chamber. In this way, various Chambers and Confederations which affiliate with the Chamber through this agreement can thus provide a value-assured outreach service to the companies which they represent that are looking to expand into the United Kingdom.

    The Chamber has been instigating these types of agreements since the year 2010. Amongst the numerous institutions which continue to benefit from this initiative, we can name the Chamber’s of Commerce for León, Lleida, Girona, Sabadell, A Coruña, and now Alicante. This also includes the Confederations of Business Industries of the Province of Badajoz (COEBA), Albacete (FEDA), and now the Spanish Confederation of Small and Medium Businesses of Alicante (CEPYME).

    For those companies, Chambers & Confederations that want to receive more information about this initiative, please don’t hesitate to put yourself in contact with us on +44 (0) 207 0099 070 or by email at info@spanishchamber.co.uk

  • V Annual Gala Dinner of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce – Celebrating 126 Years.

    The scene was set for a spectacular evening for our attendees.

     The Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain had the pleasure to host the most prestigious black-tie event of its calendar yesterday, at the magnificent Landmark Hotel , member of the Chamber, in Marylebone. It was an evening of high elegance and a friendly rubbing of shoulders, as the attendees from our member and Patron companies mingled enthusiastically with our high-profile guests. There was wine, there was laughter, there was great food, and there was also an atmosphere of positive reflection upon the achievements of the Chamber – and in particular, paying respect to those important figures which have played such a large role in its continued successes. It was in this spirit that the outgoing President, Mr. Fernando Pérez, would later be honoured by our guest speakers.

    Guests mingle in the glorious central atrium of the Landmark Hotel.

    Formalities began with a Spanish-themed drinks reception; with freshly carved Iberian ham, a variety of Spanish cheeses, and a wonderful selection of wines and cava (kindly provided by Marqués de Cáceres & Hacienda Zorita). The live pianist provided a gentle and inviting soundtrack to this early opportunity for representatives from the plethora of British and Spanish companies to share one another’s company. Cultural anecdotes and shared points of interests electrified the atmosphere of discussion in the hotel’s central atrium, before the Toastmaster directed proceedings to the main event – the dinner itself.

    Former President, Mr. Fernando Pérez (left), with the new incumbant, Mr. Javier Fernández (right).

    The grand ballroom played host to the three-course gastronomic feast, with the dinner being served by the finest camareros in London. The conversations of the earlier part of the evening extended into a palpable hum of friendly banter during the meal, with the Toastmaster once more standing to attention as attendees were finishing their desserts. He first called the newly-elected President of the Chamber, Mr. Javier Fernández, to entertain the audience with a speech. In well-spirited humour, he gave his thanks to Chamber staff and members of the Executive Committee in supporting him through the transition, whilst also stating his enthusiasm for taking on the great responsibility as President.

    The audience listening to the speech of Mr. Javier Fernández, President of the Chamber.

     H.E. The Ambassador of Spain, Mr. Federico Trillo, was then invited to take to the podium. Preferring to speak from the heart rather than notes, as he put it, he proceeded to touch on numerous subjects that were important to his role as Ambassador.

    Mr. Federico Trillo, H.E. The Ambassador of Spain, making a toast to the Queen of the United Kingdom and the King of Spain.

    The final section of formalities were ushered in by the Guest of Honour, Mr. José Manuel Soria, Spanish Minister for Industry, Energy & Tourism, who expanded on the need for Spain to develop its economic integration abroad through positive functions such as the one in which he was speaking. It’s in this capacity that he endevoures to promote Spain abroad,  he remakred, with this being fundamental in his service to the national interest. His words rang with ambition, and his speech conveyed a strong sense that with hard work, brighter things could soon come for the Spanish economy.

    (From left to right): Mr. José Antonio Zamora, Head of the Economic & Commercial Office of the Spanish Embassy; Mr. Federico Trillo, H.E. The Ambassador of Spain; Mr. José Manuel Soria, Spanish Minister for Industry, Energy & Tourism; Mr. Javier Fernández, President of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce; Mr. Fernando Pérez, Former President of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce; Mr. Pedro Moriyón, Director of the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development

    After formalities ended, attendees were invited to enjoy the rest of the evening, with of course the help of the hotel bar. In typical Spanish style, many guests stayed chatting long into the night. We thank all of our attendees, our high-profile guests & our sponsors for a truely special event and we sincerely hope that all involved found it to be a wonderful success. Please do interact and browse our blog in order to keep up to date with Chamber news & events, and click here to access the gallery of photos of the whole evening.

  • Hispassion – Welcome to the Hispanic World!

    [youtube=http://youtu.be/v9PE2fbd4mQ]

    Have you ever thought about expressing your “Hispanic passion”? The Spanish Chamber of Commerce was proud to collaborate with partners Babylon Magazine for Monday night’s 3rd Hispassion event of the year at the swanky H10 Hotel in London’s Waterloo. This informal party, which celebrates the success of Babylon (the country’s only bilingual Spanish-English glossy publication), attracted an eagar crowd of guests from a plethora of professional sectors which stretch between the UK and Spain. Popular as ever – the great food, drink and music flavoured the electric atmosphere between the banterous Brits, Spaniards, and even the odd Italian!

    Babylon was first launched in 2008 and it now has a presence all over the world, spreading Hispanic cultural points of interest in a hybrid bi-lingual format of Spanish, and whatever the local language may be. That said, London is at the heart of its international operations, since it was here that Babylon first carved its early inroads into the market which would go on to sow the seeds of its later success.

    Mr. Juan Calleja, Babylon’s director, gave a stirring speech welcoming guests back to the third edition of this widely talked about event, and restated the created drive which continues to give the publication such life and such a broad appeal amongst its readers. They were printing more hardcopy editions than ever, he said, and this was only the beginning.

    We thank all of our guests for coming, including outgoing President of the Chamber, Fernando Pérez, our attendees from Patron and Member companies, the participants in our Graduate European Programme, and wider guests. We hope you all had a great time, and we are very much looking forward to seeing you at the next Hispassion!

  • Breakfast Briefing – What are your liabilities as a Director?

    Members of the Chamber, Pinsent Masons, yesterday played host to a revealing breakfast seminar on the liabilities that company Directors face from its board, from its shareholders, and from independent auditors & creditors. Seasoned legal advisor in the arena of corporate governance and Partner of Pinsent Masons, Mr. Martin Webster, kindly conducted proceedings. He started by shedding light upon themes such as precedence of obligations, conflict of interests, and liability for breach of duties. Our attendees listened attentively whilst sipping on their morning coffees.

    Martin Webster, with over 30 years experience at Pinsent Masons, introducing the talk.

    Mr. Webster was keen to emphasise the concept of Director responsibility, establishing the notion that whilst day-to-day decisions may be taken by a company board, by a group of executives, or through other corporate structures – when things go wrong, it will be he or she that took decisions in the company’s name that will be the first to be questioned. This concept, he said, was principle in understanding all other liabilities, and that should things go wrong, it was important to have evidence that the Director conducted themselves in accordance to legal regulations (boardroom minutes or other decision-making documentation are examples).

    The seminar was well attended by Chamber members and guests.

    The talk was comprehensive yet accessible, and after being taken through the presentation, our attendees posed lively questions reflecting the corporate governance structures of their own respective companies. We thank Pinsent Masons, Mr. Webster, and our attendees for coming together and making this a wonderfully informative experience. A jovial networking breakfast followed, what a brilliant way to start the day!

    Attendees enjoy some light reflection before the subsequent networking breakfast.

  • Percpectives on Infrastructure – Talk on Bridging the Gap between Architecture and Engineering

    After a buzzing welcome reception at our City of London venue, hosted by partners Grimshaw Architects, proceedings were kicked off by a warm introduction by the President of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Fernando Pérez. As he aptly remarked, we all have an opinion on infrastructure because we all use infrastructure. The event was fabulously attended, and our four speakers delved into the emerging areas of infrastructure design and innovation which, in the words of one speaker, are starting to shape our collective human experience of where and how we live.

    Grimshaw Architects Chief Executive, Mr. Jolyon Brewis, started by asking why design was important to the functionality of infrastructure. He pointed to Battersea Power Station as an example of something that has carried with it both its original functionality as a utility, as well as an important sense of character and identity which has lasted the test of time. He quipped that he wasn’t proposing that we return to building infrastructure as if they were great cathedrals, but rather to reignite that spirit which takes such projects beyond the bare bones of functionality and strives to contribute characteristically to the community which it serves. One example was a Grimshaw project in New York, where a hybrid functionality is being innovated in a water treatment facility by developing much of the unused land on the site into a golf course.

    Mr. Ignacio Clopes, Managing Director for UK and Ireland at Ferrovial Agroman,  branch of the  infrastructure giant Ferrovial ( Patron of the Chamber) , chimed in. He spoke of the need for developing “smart infrastructure”, where again New York was used as an example of how a disused, industrial-era raised train viaduct running through the city was converted into an enormous public promenade featuring landscaping and flora. Not only had it been returned to public use in an iconic way, it also provided a very pleasant way in which to traverse that section of the city.

    From left to right, Mr. Ignacio Clopes (Ferrovial Agroman), Mr. Enrique Rico (IDOM UK), Mr. Gavin Franklin (Crossrail), Mr. Joylon Brewis (Grimshaw Architects) and Mr. Fernando Pérez (President of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce).

    Our final two speakers;  Mr. Gavin Franklin, Project Manager of Crossrail, and Mr. Enrique Rico, Head of Railways at IDOM, were keen to offer their perspectives. Mr. Franklin’s main focus was on the dichotomy of “collaboration”, something which he had experienced both positives and negatives of whilst presiding over one of Europe’s largest infrastructure projects – a project so large that it had actually first been conceived half a century ago.

    Although this process of collaboration was admittedly time consuming, he encouraged the merging of good practice between designers and engineers. As he put it, whilst civil engineers build the big important holes in the ground, with the customer experience a very distant concept, the architect just bridge that gap, working from inception to optimize the service user experience. Finally, Mr. Rico expanded upon his work within IDOM, indulging the audience with an insight into the world of rail infrastructure, citing Poland as an example of a country moving towards the modern era by investing heavily in improving this area.

    After a pensive and banterous Q&A session, the speakers and attendees retired to the atrium to mingle whilst enjoying drinks and some Spanish-themed hors d’oeuvres. We sincerely thank Grimshaw Architects, as well as our speakers, for a successful and highly engaging event, and we very much hope our attendees enjoyed it too.

  • Patrons’ Club – Exclusive Breakfast with Secretary of State for Foreign Trade

    On  27th of September, the Spanish Chamber held one of its exclusive Patron’s  Club events: Breakfast with Mr. Jaime García-Legaz, Spanish Secretary of State for Foreign Trade.

    The breakfast was a great opportunity to rub shoulders with business world elites from the the UK & Spain, who kindly support the Spanish Chamber of Commerce through patronship. The atmosphere was jovial, but it was also an opportunity for a frank discussion of one of the key economic issues of our time – how it is that businesses can get to grips with the ways in which the Spanish economy can look to improve, and ultimately to emerge as a strong world competitor in the coming years.

    Mr. Jaime García-Legaz, Spanish Secretary of State for Foreign Trade.

    The former economic and financial analyst at the Bank of Spain, who also has experience in the position of Director General of Financial Policy at the Economic & Finance Ministry, took to the podium. He stressed the need to reform the Spanish financial architecture and again reaffirmed that he will endeavor to maintain Spain as a part of the euro.

    Mr. García-Legaz pointed out that there is still the need for extensive labour reforms as a key tool to overcome the current crisis in Spain, which links directly with the fundamental commitment by the current centre-right government to budgetary stability. These measures, in the words of García-Legaz, are aimed at economic growth.

    However, his speech was full of optimism, and stated that Spain would begin to see the first signs of recovery within the 3rd quarter of 2013, which are otherwise starting to be reflected in foreign investment figures. This positive shift is currently being supported by a structural correction being brought about through the generating of an unprecedented trade surplus.

    CEO’s and other high-level deligates from our Patron companies milling around during the breakfast.

    In conclusion, he reiterated the importance of betting on the policy adjustments of the government and, in particular, to trust leading Spanish companies, many of them present at this breakfast, since it is they who are ultimately the ones that generate sustainable growth and stimulate the economy. This is, he remarked, essential in order for Spain to emerge stronger from the crisis.

    Patrons of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce representatives attended the event along with H.E. The Ambassador of Spain Federico Trillo Figueroa and the President of The Spanish Chamber, Mr.Fernando Pérez.

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