Previous Events......................................................
|
Page 2
|
News from the Director...........................................
|
Page 5
|
New Members.........................................................
|
Page 6
|
Joint Nordic Event at London Stock Exchange........
|
Page 7
|
Job Vacancies.........................................................
|
Page 11
|
Dates for your Diary................................................
|
Page 12
|
Membership Offers..................................................
|
Page 12
|
|
This years AGM and Annual Gala Evening took place the 20th of April 2007 at the gorgeous venue 'The Drapers' Company.
 |
 |
 |
Awaiting the guests
|
Report from the Council, Chairman Per Troen
|
AGM 2007
| AGM took place in the beautiful Drawing room and was followed by Champagne reception in Court Dining Room. About 80 people attended this evening.
 |
|
|
Lars-Ove Filipson (SAS), Gunilla Filipson
Patricia Goodwin, John Goodwin (United International Enterprises)
|
Karen Marie Christensen (Danes Abroad), Henrik Hoffmann (Danske Bank), Lisbeth Nedergaard, Simon Nielsen (Børsen), Lone Hoffmann
|
Malene Brondberg (ABG Sundal Collier), Lars Sindberg (Danmerc Property Consultants), Marianne Thomsen (Summit Production), Claus Rasmussen (Danske Bank)
| Dinner was served in the Livery Hall - one of the largest and most impressive Livery Halls in the City of London. The room is dominated by the Company’s collection of royal portraits and adorned from above by magnificent ceiling paintings depicting scenes from Shakespearean plays.
|
Keynote speech
by Mr Christian Williams |
Keynote speaker Mr Christian Williams who is currently serving as a Master of the Drapers'
 |
| Evening round-up by Mr Jim Davis | Company delivered a very interesting and educational speech on, among other things, the history of the Drapers' Hall.
An entertaining evening round-up was held by Mr Jim Davis CBE K(DK), DUCC Honorary President.
 |
| Live music | During the evening guests enjoyed jazz-music and were entertained by ‘Dean Martin’ alias Ole Jørgensen.
"Thank you for a truly outstanding and very well organised Gala Dinner – the DUCC has never looked better! The venue at Drapers' Hall was exceptional, the speeches were both interesting and entertaining, and the highlight for me was the very well-deserved standing ovation given to Honorary President and former Chairman, Mr Jim Davis" Tom Schrøder, Grundberg Mocatta Rakison LLP “Just a short note to congratulate you on the outstanding event on Friday. My guests, Ulrik Østergaard and his partner, also asked me to pass on their sincere thanks for a delightful experience” John Goodwin, DUCC Vice-Chairman “Just thought I'd let you know what a truly memorable evening I had on Friday, which was so well organised. The ambience, speakers, dinner and band made for a most fabulous evening. Thank you for all your hard work” Jill Inglis, Danske Bank “This evening was tremendous! The atmosphere was fantastic from start to finish, which indicates that the DUCC members highly enjoy these kinds of festivities! And the speeches were exceptional – especially I enjoyed DUUC Honorary President wise words on Danes...” Karen Marie Kristensen, Danes Abroad Ltd
The evening was a great success and DUCC would like to thank all attendees for making it a memorable evening.
May 1 was the day for our Joint Event with the Danish Church with guest speaker Mr Alf-Duch Pedersen, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Danske Bank and Group 4 Securicor. More than 100 people attended this evening hosted by the Danish Church. Pastor Ronald Pedersen welcomed the guests and gave a short speech on the church’s role abroad and, in relation to the topic of the evening, how the churches can be said to be some of the most experienced ‘businesses’ when it comes to globalisation. Mr Alf Duch-Pedersen shared with us his experiences and thoughts on globalisation. How Danes ever since the vikings have always longed to go abroad, the question on how to define globalisation, drivers, opportunities and drawbacks. He concluded that Danish companies are doing well – they navigate skilfully in the waters of globalisation. The question is if they will still be Danish in 10-20-30 years?
H.E. Ambassador Birger Riis-Jørgensen introduces Mr. Alf Duch-Pedersen
|
Guest speaker Mr. Alf Duch-Pedersen
|
Obviously Mr Alf Duch-Pedersen is a man speaking from experience and his presentation was very informative and eye-opening and very well received by the audience.
Mr Alf-Duch-Pedersen was introduced by H.E. Ambassador Birger Riis-Jørgensen
who also chaired the following Q&A session.
The evening was a success in many ways. The venue, the many attendees, the food, the atmosphere and at last but not at least the quality of the guest speaker.
Pastor Ronald Pedersen and Pastor Henrik S. Olsen
|
 |
Q&A session
|
Mr Henrik Hoffmann, Danske Bank and Mr Alf Duch-Pedersen enjoy dinner
|
  
  
  
  
  
|
Dear Members,
Welcome to May’s edition of the Red Letter. May has already started strongly for the Chamber with a stirring evening at the London Danish Church. Members were treated to a fantastic meal followed by a speech of even greater merit on Globalisation presented by Mr Alf Duch-Pedersen, the chairman of Danske Bank and Group 4 Securicor. This was followed by a Q&A session, chaired by H.E. the Danish Ambassador to the Court of St James, Birger Riis-Jørgensen, who also introduced our guest speaker at this ecclesial venue.
Following the success of last year’s Pre-Club Party on November the 10th, a repeat event has been organised to take place at the Pangaea Nightclub on Friday the 25th of May 2007. Hosted at a venue that owes its name to Earth’s super continent, an eclectic mix will be amplified by the presence of NASA, drifting in from Copenhagen, who will offer DUCC members and their Guests complimentary entry and a champagne cocktail and canapé reception.
Please note for your diaries the 7th of June, when the DUCC will host a joint-Nordic event at the London Stock Exchange. The event aims to promote international private equity investments in the Nordic region. In addition to the different Nordic chambers’ members, luminaries from the financial world will attend, including private equity and pension fund managers, major investors and members of the financial press. This forum will offer attendees the opportunity to establish many useful contacts, but will be of particular use to MDs from Nordic companies who wish to acquire an insight to what catches the interest of a private equity fund. As a result, we do expect the evening to be especially popular, so please book as soon as possible in order to avoid missing out.
The May/June issue of Nyt fra Danmark is now out and should be working its way to you in the post. Please see page 11 of the UK section for details of the Danish-UK Chamber of Commerce.
Finally, I must say it is a great pleasure to see the Chamber enlarge every month thanks to the addition of new and inspiring companies to the organisation. Please welcome as new members to the Chamber this month two such companies: 95% Danish and Madsen Food.
Best Regards,
Martin Mortensen Executive Director Danish-UK Chamber of Commerce |
The Danish-UK Chamber of Commerce would like to welcome this month's new members.
95% Danish was founded 2 years ago by Kim Dohm. Of Danish descent Kim has long been a passionate advocate of the Danish Lifestyle and, with a background in Product Design, Danish Products. His vision was to create a company able to house some of the very best Home Accessory companies currently to be found in Denmark. All important was the company’s ability to ensure the image it portrayed matched the aspirations of the brands it represents. This desire to present a style of Living that reflects the Best of Danish continues to drive the business to this day.
2 years on 95% Danish is proud to be the exclusive UK Distributor for Holmegaard, Elvang, Ferm-Living, Unique Interieur and Mette Ditmer. Some household names, some not, but all linked by an appreciation of style and quality in all things, especially those used in everyday life.
95% Danish the home to Danish style.
Visit 95% Danish at www.95Danish.com or visit the showroom at:
95%Danish Showroom
2 Blake Mews, Kew
Richmond TW9 3GA
T: +44 (0) 207 871 9502
F: +44 (0)208 439 9080
Contact person: Kim Dohm, kim@95percentdanish.co.uk
|
Madsen is a catering company that specialises in Scandinavian Smørrebrød, Buffets and Canapés. Madsen was started by Charlotte Kruse Madsen who has trained at Restaurant Ida Davidsen in Copenhagen. Here, she learned to produce quality Smørrebrød.
Smørrebrød is very popular for business lunches since it offers a new and exciting alternative to the standard London sandwich. Ty pically made with dark rye bread, toppings include smoked salmon, Greenland shrimp, fish filet with remoulade and asparagus, pickled herring with Danish curry salad, liver pâté with smoked bacon, Danish meatballs etc.
We also make buffets, such as the traditional Christmas Buffet, Easter Buffet and Swedish Midsommar Buffet. Finally, our Scandinavian canapés and snitter (1/2 size Smørrebrød) are popular for receptions and larger events. Madsen delivers in London to both corporate and private clients. Among the corporate clients we are proud to count SAS, FinnAir, Skandium, Kvadrat, StoraEnso and MorganStanley. To find out more please visit our website (www.madsenfood.com) or contact Charlotte on 07 932 455 146 or charlotte@madsenfood.com. |
The Joint Nordic Event on the 7th of June 2007 on Nordic Private Equity - organised by the Danish-UK Chamber of Commerce in cooperation with the London Stock Exchange will be the largest event of the year! This evening seminar and reception will give members of the Chamber a unique opportunity to visit the London Stock Exchange and meet representatives from London’s Square mile and captains of industry from the respective Scandinavian Financial Sectors.
Speakers will include:
Waldemar Schmidt - Chairman of Superfos A/S and Thrane & Tharne A/S
Björn Savén - Chairman & Chief Executive Industri Kapital
Joachim Høegh-Krohn - CEO Argentum
Marcus Stuttard - Deputy Head of AIM, London Stock Exchange
Programme:
16.00 Registration and refreshments
16.30 Seminar
18.30 Drinks reception with canapés
21.00 End of the evening The evening is kindly sponsored by:
"As one of the founding fathers of the Danish-UK Chamber of Commerce I am honoured to be back to share my private equity experiences with the participants of this important event at LSE, the heart of Europe's Financial Centre".
Waldemar Schmidt. Former CEO of ISS A/S. Member of several Boards of Directors including Chairman of the Board of Directors of Superfos A/S and Thrane&Thrane A/S.
.jpg) |
Waldemar Schmidt |
Executive Career 1964-2000
Education: Industrial engineer.
1964-69: Production Manager MCC, Santa Margarita di Pula, Sardinia, Italy.
1969-72: General Manager The East Asiatic Co. Sao Paulo, Brazil.
1972-79: Country Manager ISS in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
1979-89: Member of the ISS Group Executive Board, Copenhagen.
1989-1995: Managing Director ISS Europe, London and Member of the ISS Group Executive Board.
1995-2000: Group Chief Executive of ISS, known as the world’s largest cleaning- and facilities services company, with 250,000 employees.
Non Executive Career 2000-
Waldemar stepped down as the Group Chief Executive of ISS in 2000 to pursue a new full-time career. His present positions include the below directorships:
Denmark: Superfos A/S Thrane&Thrane A/S (Chairman)
Dubai,UAE: Majid Al Futtaim Group LLC (Deputy Chairman)
The Netherlands: Welzorg Group b.v.
Sweden: Alfa Laval AB and Kwintet AB
Switzerland: Cicor S/A
UK: Enodis PLC
For more information visit: www.superfos.com, www.thrane.com, www.winningatservice.com, www.denmarklimited.com, www.corporategovernance.dk
"We are part of the organising committee in order to establish contacts, and network with current and possible co-investors in the Nordic Private Equity Market," says Joachim Høegh-Krohn, Argentum.
Argentum is a professional investor in Nordic Private Equity Funds. Argentum will strive to improve investor interest in the Nordic Region as well as interest of Private Equity as form of ownership. Our interest is to stimulate funds to invest in the Nordic region, competition between managers and investor interest through improving the quality of conditions, terms and practices in Norway and the Nordic region.
About Argentum
Argentum is a government-owned investment company, and is one of the leading investors in Nordic private equity. Argentum invests through either established or new fund management structures.
 |
Joachim Høegh-Krohn
CEO Argentum |
Argentums assets under management are NOK 3.1 billion, and annual return on invested capital since inception in 2002 is 35%. Argentum has invested in 22 funds, and owns through these 150 firms. These funds will invest 50 BNOK, mostly in the Nordic region.
Joachim Høegh-Krohn, CEO Argentum has broad experience from the asset management industry. Among other positions, he has held the position as CEO and Chief Investment Officer of DnB Asset Management. He joined Argentum from the position as head of one of Vital Insurance’s business units. Mr. Høegh-Krohn holds a Ph.D. in Finance from the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration (NHH).
Visit Argentum at www.argentum.no
"We are delighted to be supporting this event. Private equity continues to be a strong force in the European and Nordic economies and in particular can provide significant financial and operational support to mid-sized companies as they grow and develop."Björn Saven
Industri Kapital is a European private equity firm with Nordic roots, managing close to 4 billion euros in fund commitments. Since 1989, Industri Kapital has acquired 64 European companies. The current portfolio encompasses 24 companies with a total turnover close to 8.6 billion euros.
 |
Björn Savén
Chairman & Chief Executive Industri Kapital |
Industri Kapital invests mainly in mid-sized companies with strong cash flow and profit improvement potential, operating in mature industries with fundamental underlying growth.
Björn Savén, Chairman & Chief Executive Industri Kapital since the start in 1989. Previous work experience includes 12 years in various managerial positions within the Esselte Group in Sweden, the UK and the US. Mr Savén holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a degree from Stockholm School of Economics.
Visit Industri Kapital at: www.industrikapital.com
.jpg)
"We are pleased to support this initiative which is organised by the Danish-UK Chamber of Commerce and designed to support the growth of Nordic companies. As one of the world's most international markets we believe the Exchange has an important role to play in providing access to capital for companies from the Nordic region." About the London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is one of the world’s leading equity exchanges, with over 3,100 companies from more than 55 countries admitted to trading on its markets. The Exchange provides means of raising capital for both UK and international companies through equity, debt and depositary receipt issues and provides investors with the opportunity to buy and sell securities in the companies of their choice.
.jpg) |
Marcus Stuttard
Deputy Head of AIM
London Stock Exchange | Marcus Stuttard, Deputy Head of AIM, London Stock Exchange was appointed Deputy Head of AIM in 2006 and is responsible for the development and day-to-day management of AIM.
Marcus has been with the Exchange for the last 11 years. During this time his various roles have focused on primary markets development and most recently he has been responsible for developing the Exchange’s relationships with the corporate advisory community, including nominated advisers, sponsors, lawyers and accountants in the UK and overseas.
Marcus joined the Exchange as a Regulatory Adviser in the Listing Department after completing the Law Society’s Legal Practice Course.
Visit London Stock Exchange at www.londonstockexchange.com
"Being a large North European bank with a strong foothold in the 4 Nordic countries we very much welcome this joint initiative between the chambers to increase the knowledge of private equity investment in our main region"
Danske Bank is the largest bank in Denmark and a major player in North European market with more than 3 million retail clients and a significant number of corporate and institutional clients. Danske Bank has offices throughout Scandinavia, Finland, the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Furthermore, the bank has branches in London, Hamburg and Warsaw. Additionally, Danske Bank has a subsidiary in Luxembourg, catering for private banking services. Danske Bank Recently acquired Sampo Bank and can now ad retail networks in Finland and the Baltics.
Danske Bank London Branch was established back in 1983 for the primary reason of supporting Nordic corporates in the UK. Since then London Branch has grown significantly both in size and in the range of services offered. Nordic Corporates are able to use London Branch for a full retail banking set-up, with access to Danske Bank’s award winning Cash Management services. Danske Bank is one of the market leaders in the Nordic syndicated loan markets and its Loan Syndication Team is based in London Branch. For more info visit Danske Bank at www.danskebank.co.uk, T: 020 7410 8000
"We are delighted to be able to support the conference at this superb venue and are looking forward to a valuable opportunity to participate in promoting Private Equity in the Nordic region." Anders M. Hansen, Managing Partner of DANDERS & MORE
About DANDERS & MORE
DANDERS & MORE delivers effective, co-ordinated and decisive legal advice through an international approach, founded on strong local capabilities and experience.
 |
Anders M. Hansen
Managing partner | We focus on Corporate and Financial Transactions, including advice on corporate matters; capital markets transactions; domestic and cross-border M&A and finance transactions; as well as on Litigation and Arbitration. We believe that the efficient delivery of legal services with a commercial approach is the best way to ensure that our services add value in the pursuit of any business objectives. This demands a sophisticated level of experience, flexibility, open communication, mutual respect, and support between our client and us, as well as an in-depth and realistic understanding of our clients’ objectives and tolerance for risk in any given situation Our clients’ success is a measure of our success and we are committed to continue to deliver the best value through superior service.
Visit DANDERS & MORE at www.dandersmore.com
"Nordea is a true Nordic bank represented throughout the region and our business model incorporates a leading position in Acquisition Finance. We are therefore pleased to sponsor this Joint Nordic Event which aims to increase awareness of the role of Private Equity Investment in the Nordic region."
About Nordea
Nordea is the leading financial services group in the Nordic and Baltic Sea region. It has a Moody's credit rating of Aa1, a market capitalisation of EUR 30bn, and almost 10 million customers throughout the region, serviced by more than 1,100 branches and 29,000 employees. Nordea is present in 19 countries throughout the world, and has been represented in the City of London since the mid-‘70’s. The London branch specialises in (i) Nordic Corporate business, and (ii) International Shipping business. The Corporate Banking department provides a complete banking service to our Nordic customers, including all lending products and sophisticated Cash Management systems. Within the Corporate Banking department, our Danish Desk combines Danish banking expertise with detailed knowledge of UK banking practice. The General Manager of London Branch is Jørgen Høholt, who also heads up all of Nordea's International Network.
Visit Nordea at www.nordea.com, T: 0207 726 9000 |
|