The Business Lunch began in 1965 and is still going strong...
It was in 1965 that the first British lunches were organized in Barcelona and were known as 'The British Community Luncheon'.
After some time these first gatherings wound down but were resurrected in the form of the British Businessmans Lunch, organized by the British Consulate as long ago as 1980.
The venue changed frequently, due to the lack of restaurant owners willing to offer lunch, preceded by gin and whisky, for a cut down price.
In the early eighties, however, 'The Jockey Club', on Calle Paris, became the regular meeting place for 'The British Businessmans Lunch'. As the name suggests, it tended to restrict interaction between other groups or individuals that were not British, in business or men!
Five and a half years ago and due to increasing work pressure, the British Consulate decided to 'outsource' the organization of the event.
Bevan Brumwell, of 'Brumwell Brokers', a regular at the lunches and a long term British businessman in Barcelona, was invited to take up the baton, which he did admirably, changing venues and encouraging a broader mix of people to attend. The name was also watered down to the 'Businessmans' Lunch'.
Once again a change was made due to pressures of business, and after many years of good work Bevan persuaded Jonathan Goodman of The Spectrum IFA Group to take over the organisation. Jonathan changed the name to its current format, 'The Business Lunch' and opened the door further to any English speaking business person.
Over the last 5 years, his natural flair and enthusiasm helped raise the profile of the Lunch further and create one of Barcelona’s top networking events. However, due to increased commitments, Jonathan has recently passed the organisation over to fellow work colleague Andrew Galway.
The Business Lunch is now entering an exciting new era, with Andrew at the helm, a new venue for lunches to be held in The Lobster House and a shiny new website for members to use that has been created by long term sponsors source 23.