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30 April 2026
Second Members’ Networking Event Marks New Beginning for the ABCC
The ABCC held its Second Members’ Networking Event of 2026 on the afternoon of 30th April 2026 when it hosted members from various sectors in the Boardroom at the Mayfair premises.
The meeting was notable as the final meeting held at Upper Grosvenor Street before the ABCC’s relocation to a new home. Opening the meeting, Interim Secretary General & CEO, Mrs Rita Massoud, declared that it was a special event as it marked a new beginning for the Chamber which would be looking forward to inviting members to its new premises shortly.
Mrs Massoud stressed that the ABCC’s success should be measured by the success of its members, whom the Chamber was determined to support.
She indicated that the Chamber would be planning a new series of events and urged everyone to look out for upcoming announcements that would be released soon.
Before the presentations, Mr Mashary Osman, the ABCC’s Head of International Trade, delivered a brief outline of the Chamber’s services designed to help businesses navigate the opportunities by reducing friction in the trade process and ensuring a smoother movement of goods.
Mr Osman further described the ABCC’s position at the centre of a wide “circle of friends” that comprises trade bodies, businesses and government departments. These connections enabled the ABCC to support the needs of its members, be they SMEs or large multinational corporations.
The Chamber’s trade services helped exporters by reducing the friction to facilitate smoother trade.
Speakers making company presentations represented services such as international travel, tax advisory, risk assessment and intelligence gathering, and various aspects of law, particularly those related to business services, migration and visa applications for both companies and individuals.
The members’ presentations were delivered by Martyn Bell, Corporate Accounts Manager, Etihad Airways, Atef Elmarakby, Managing Partner, Good Law International, Karen Worcester, Director, Expatriate Tax Advisory Service, Mohammed Hafejee, Partner, Latitude Law, Rajiv Naik, Partner, Fragomen, and Martin Stone, Co-Founder, Zenobia Intelligence Ltd.
Mr Martyn Bell addressed the recent disruption to flying as a result of the situation in the region, but he stressed that a full schedule of flights from the UK was now operating.
Etihad, founded in 2003, operated a new fleet of planes and was experiencing growing customer satisfaction with its services.
Mr Bell outlined some of the new services, such as the Etihad chauffeur service to take customers to and from the airport. He spoke about the luxury and business class services, highlighting the Etihad for Business corporate travel programme which offered flexible bookings and customer rewards to its corporate clients.
Mr Atef Elmarakby mentioned his two decades of experience in the UK supporting investors and business owners to enter and expand in the market. Good Law Intl was a boutique law firm that specialises in legal services for entrepreneurs, start-ups, businesses, and investors.
The firm served a broad range of needs relating to corporate and commercial law, covering property, restructuring, trusts, tax affairs, end of year accounts, probate, wills and dispute resolution among others.
The company boasts strong Middle East connections and many its clients were from the region. Good Law’s staff were all practical business lawyers and mostly fluent in Arabic, Mr Elmarakby stated.
He informed the meeting that the company was interested in contacting new clients who were contemplating investment in the UK to provide them with professional services.
In her presentation, Mrs Karen Worcester mentioned the numerous changes occurring in the area of tax at present, among which was the ending of the non-dom status in the UK.
Basing her observations on the kinds of issues that her British and Middle East clients were raising, Mrs Worcester stressed that no two cases were ever exactly the same.
She explained that her company, Expatriate Tax Advisory Services was not only aimed at expatriates. It can help companies and individuals with their tax returns and help them to navigate the complexities of the taxation issues when they are moving abroad or returning to the UK.
Mr Mohammed Hafejee told the meeting that his law firm specialised in corporate migration law supporting overseas companies and their staff.
Latitude Law had tailored services to help companies when bringing global talent to the UK with services such as sponsor’s licences for full time employment, services for professionals involved in the arts and music and the acquisition of visas.
Mr Hafejee alerted people to the changes in the law concerning dependents coming to the UK and the rules for bringing in staff as well as the different sponsorship options for working in the country.
Mr Rajiv Naik described Fragomen as immigration experts with a global reach and proceeded to discuss the interplay between migration and taxation.
Mr Naik stated that his firm was able to help with issues relating to visas and property for individual and corporate clients.
He spoke about the impact of geopolitics on migration and mobility issues and stressed the vital aspect of compliance. He also discussed the digitalisation of applications for visas and new solutions such as golden visas.
Mr Martin Stone outlined his company’s work with clients seeking vital information essential for business planning and investment choices. Zenobia Intelligence provided research and investigations to mitigate risk and ensure clarity in business transactions and helped clients before they entered into partnership agreements.
Mr Stone said that the company had branches in the UK, Beirut and Cairo, and could draw on the services of a long-established specialist team in the Arab world.
The firm’s services included asset reaching, intelligence gathering of data crucial before making important business decisions. Among its services, Zenobia could help companies when bidding for tenders and before they entered into joint ventures, Mr Stone explained.
Responding to the presentations, Mrs Massoud stated that the presentations had covered the entire spectrum of the needs of business professionals and expatriates. The successful event had been effective in highlighting the diverse expertise found among the membership of the ABCC.
During the discussions, topics raised by delegates covered the current situation in the region and its impact on trade, the continuing economic stability especially in the Gulf, along with the gradual pick up in exports which was reflected in a current rise in the number of documents that the ABCC was processing.
The networking event concluded with a reception that attracted upwards of fifty members and friends.