BCCD - it started with lunch

Print

Though the younger partner of the merger in 2008, the BCCD is by no means its junior member. Originally a meeting group for British businessmen in Denmark, the organisation has rapidly expanded its activities in recent years and is now a full-fledged commercial and social organisation, with an elected working chairman and a full time administrator.

Originally, however, the organisation that was to become today's BCCD was all about lunch – and learning more about Denmark.

The BCCD owes its existence to the late Sam Harris OBE. The managing director of ICL in Denmark in the 1960s, Harris created what he called a “forum” for the rapidly increasing number of British business people living in Denmark at that time. From its outset, this forum had the stated goal of providing an opportunity for British business people to meet informally to discuss mutual problems and other topics of interest.

Like similar expatriate organisations, the exact facts about that early forum have been lost to history. An informal group at first, it had no logo, no records were kept and was referred to as the British Businessmen’s Club.

It is known that the events were held on an irregular basis – whenever Harris could find ‘an interesting guest speaker’, in the words of long-time member Sam Lomberg OBE. The efforts of the group quickly gained the support of the British Embassy, which was instrumental in recruiting members. Just a few months after its first meeting, the club was already counting 25 people – mostly British businessmen working in Demark – as members.

Up until the early 1980s, the club remained very much a labour of love for Harris. But with his health failing him a decision was made to set up a board that would to responsible for its management.

The BCCD in its present form officially traces its roots back to 2001, when what was then the British Business Lunch Club was invited by the British Embassy to become the official British Chamber of Commerce in Denmark. But the cornerstone of its activities, a luncheon on the third Friday of every month, became a fixture as early as 1985.

Three years after the embassy's invitation and thanks a considerable amount of work ensuring that the organisation met the requirements of that would qualify to become an official chamber of commerce, the BCCD was born on 17 September 2004.

Prior to the merger, the BCCD's membership stood at 75 companies and 275 individuals – including Danish business professionals – and it had been organising around 20 events in the previous year including social ones such as an annual garden party, an annual autumn ball and a golf tournament.