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!