As the end of 2015 approaches, we have been looking back over a busy year for the Chamber.
2015 has seen us add 23 new companies to the Chamber as members, among them companies specialising in luxury textiles, financial services, furniture and art, print solutions, specialist engineering services, IT, interior design, and property investment managers. The total number of companies in the Chamber now stands at 116, up from 93 at the beginning of 2015.
We believe this reflects the growing desire by Portuguese companies to increase their trade with the UK, to counterbalance the tough market conditions in Portugal.
We also hope it reflects the increasing profile of the Chamber in the UK. Our mission to promote the goods and services of Portuguese companies here in the UK continues to be our priority and in 2015 we began some valuable new initiatives in this field.
• All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Portugal
One important initiative was the September relaunch of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Portugal, which is now headed by Stephen Hammond M.P. This is an influential group inside the British Parliament which comprises members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords who are interested in Portugal's, and the relaunch was formalised in October at a reception in the House of Commons sponsored by the Madeira Regional Government. For 2016 more events with the APPG on Portugal are planned, which all members will be encouraged to attend.
• Sub-committees
In 2015 the Chamber’s new sub-committees have been working hard to promote the products and skills of companies in the following sectors, all of which are key areas in the modern Portuguese economy. Currently our sub-committees cover Real Estate, Construction', Finance, Renewable Energies, Tourism, Information Technology, SME’s (Small and Medium Enterprises), Lusophone countries and also Strategic Relations between the UK and Portugal.
The sub-committees have organised various events, including the 2015 Property conference, a Business Start Up Seminar, a seminar on Construction Opportunities in the UK, a Technology Briefing during London Tech Week, and trade dinners around leading furniture and design shows in the UK.
Our events programme in Portugal also continued successfully in 2015, with several networking lunches that featured leading speakers from business and finance, and a very well attended Gala Dinner in the Algarve.
• 2015 Gala Dinner in London
Stephen Hammond MP was the keynote speaker at the Chamber Gala Dinner in London on the 5th November 2015 at the RAC Club, our Chairman also spoke about the Chamber progress in 2015. For details download full speech here.
• Portuguese Chamber Business Network (PCBN)
Our Portuguese Chamber Business Network (PCBN), which is a database of over 1000 Portuguese men and women working in senior or mid-level positions in UK companies, has also continued to grow during the year, encouraged by the Chamber’s monthly Open House Networking Drinks held at various venues in central London. The growing number of Portuguese professionals now coming to the UK means that this network is playing an increasingly important role in the Chamber, so for 2016 we are planning more events for the PCBN – watch this space.
The Chamber’s presence on social media continues to grow (please see www.portuguese-chamber.org.uk for more) and we market the Chamber and our events there very actively - our LinkedIn pages now have over 1450 connections and Facebook, Twitter and EventBrite continue to bring us valuable contacts and new business.
We remain very open to new ideas from members, so please do get in touch if you have any suggestions for events or new members that might be interested in joining us.
We are proud to be working closely with UKTI, London and Partners, the All Party Parliamentary Group on Portugal, Portugal’s government trade network of CIEP and AICEP, the Portuguese Ambassador to the UK and his Embassy staff, and the other Portuguese Chambers of Commerce in Europe to promote Portugal.
• Plans for 2016
Looking forward to 2016, we intend to keep growing our programme of events under our various subcommittees, and increase our membership. We hope more and more companies will join the Chamber as Portugal looks outwards for growth.
Apart from the annual Property Conference and annual Gala Dinners (both in London and in the Algarve) and the already usual events organised by the Portuguese Chamber either in the UK or in Portugal, we are planning to increase our events for the Construction sector, IT and Technology, business with Lusophone countries and also Strategic Relations between the UK and Portugal.
We are open to suggestions from our members and hope to be working closely with you for 2016.
We would also like to wish you a very happy Christmas and a profitable 2016.
