Business trip to London, United Kingdom.

• Communication:
  Use formal names, professional and academic titles. Many older people or people from the ’upper class’ value formalities.
  The British are direct with modesty, do not confuse this with rudeness.
  Never interrupt somebody.
  Dress formal and conservative.
  



• Meetings and negotiations:
  When making appointments use the 24-hour clock time format to avoid misunderstandings.
  Be very punctual, if you suspect you will late, call and explain the situation.
  Never cancel a meeting at the last minute.
  Shake hands with everyone upon arriving at the meeting and leaving.
  Remain standing until invited to sit down or others do so.
  Some time is spent to getting to know you before the business conversation begins.
  Agenda’s are strictly followed.
  Keep your presentation as short as possible, to the point, accurate and precise, do not exaggerate.
  Follow up a meeting with a letter or an e-mail with all agreements outlined. Keep the style formal.
  


• Table manners:
  If unsure on how to behave, mimic the behavior of others.
  Wait until you are appointed a seat.
  Avoid alcohol if possible, otherwise drink little.
  If making a toast, stand up.
  Put a napkin on your lap, eat not too much but finish your plate.
  Keep your hands above the table when eating.
  After finishing your plate lay your knife and fork parallel on your plate with the handles to the right.
  Thank your host at the end of the meal.
  

The British motor industry is a significant part of this sector, although it has weakened with the collapse of the MG Rover Group and most of the car industry is nowadays foreign owned. Civil and defence aircraft production is led by the second largest defence contractor in the world, BAE Systems, and the continental European firm EADS, the owner of Airbus. Rolls-Royce holds a major share of the global aerospace engines market. The chemical and pharmaceutical industry is strong in the United Kingdom, with the world’s second and sixth largest pharmaceutical firms being based in the United Kingdom.

The service sector of the United Kingdom, nevertheless, has grown substantially, and now makes up about 73% of GDP. The service sector is dominated by financial services, especially in banking and insurance. London is the world’s largest financial centre with the London Stock Exchange, the London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange, and the Lloyd’s of London insurance market all based in the City of London. London is a major centre for international business and commerce and is the leader of the three "command centres" for the global economy,along with New York City and Tokyo. It has the largest concentration of foreign bank branches in the world. In the past decade, a rival financial centre in London has grown in the Docklands area, with the HSBC, the world’s largest bank, and Barclays Bank relocating their head offices there.

Many multinational companies that are not primarily based in the United Kingdom have chosen to site their European or rest-of-world headquarters in London: an example is the US financial services firm Citigroup. The Scottish capital, Edinburgh, has one of the large financial centres of Europe and is the headquarters of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group, one of the world’s largest banks.

Tourism is very important to the British economy. With over 27 million tourists arriving in 2004, the United Kingdom is ranked as the sixth major tourist destination in the world. London, by a considerable margin, is the most visited city in the world with 15,6 million visitors in 2006, ahead of 2nd placed Bangkok (10,4 million visitors) and 3rd placed Paris (9,7 million).

The Uited Kingdom has a small coal reserve along with highly important, yet continuously declining natural gas and oil reserves. Over 400 million tonnes of proven coal reserves have been identified in the United Kingdom. In 2004, the total coal consumption in the United Kingdom, including imports was 61 million tonnes, allowing the United Kingdom to be self sufficient in coal for just over 6,5 years, although at present extraction rates it would take 20 years to mine.

Some facts in a list:

Product tip: There are also nice looking laptop bags on the market! A laptop bag doesn’t have to be a dull conservative black bag. There are lot’s of great looking bags on the market these days. Special laptop bags with the protection that is needed for your laptop but also with nice designs in models and materials.

Keep the following tips in mind if you need to order a taxi during your business trip to London.
Fares within Greater London depend on the time of day, distance traveled and taxi speed, and are displayed on the meter. The driver is not obliged to accept a hiring if the destination is outside Greater London, and the fare for such a journey may be negotiated between the driver and hirer. Drivers must, unless they have good cause, accept any hiring up to 12 miles (20 miles if starting at Heathrow Airport), or up to one hour duration, if the destination is in Greater London.

Corrigan’s Mayfair
Corrigan’s Mayfair redefines the concept of quintessential British cuisine. Fusing seasonal produce with Richard’s unmistakable flair, it offers some of the most refreshing dishes to London’s appetites in a very long time.
28 Upper Grosvenor Street
London W1K 7EH
T 0207 499 9943
www.corrigansmayfair.com

The Giaconda Dining Room
"It’s a traffic-stopping little piece of class in this run-down short-cut-to-nowhere street..."
9 Denmark Street
WC2 H8LS
London
Tel: 0207 240 3334
www.giacondadining.com

L’Anima
This is a glossy, smart restaurant, light and airy with natural materials and subdued colors, opened by Francesco Mazzei, a very accomplished chef and here concentrates on his southern Italian upbringing and first culinary experiences. If you are on a business trip to London, this is a great restaurant for entertaining your hosts.
1 Snowden Street
Broadgate West
London, EC2A 2DQ
Tel: 0207 422 7000
www.lanima.co.uk

Hilton London Islington Hotel
The Hilton London Islington hotel is in the heart of Islington, next to the Business Design Center. Hilton London is the perfect base for business travelers. Enjoy delicious Mediterranean fare and mezze in The Restaurant at the hotel or have a drink in the modern Axis Bar.
53 Upper Street
London N1 0UY
Tel: 44-207-354-770
More info about Hilton London Islington Hotel

Best Western Premier Shaftesbury Hotel
The stylish Best Western Shaftesbury London Hotel is located in the heart of London’s West End. With just 17 miles away from London Heathrow International Airport and 36 miles from London Gatwick International Airport, it is very convenient for business travelers in London.
65-73 Shaftesbury Avenue
Piccadilly, London W1D 6EX
Phone: 44 207 871 6000
More info about Best Western Premier Shaftesbury Hotel

NH Harrington Hall
NH Harrington Hall is located in the heart of London’s exclusive Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The hotel is ideally located only two minutes’ walk from Gloucester Road Underground Station, which is served by the District, Circle and Piccadilly lines, providing direct access to Heathrow and the City which is very convenient during a busy business trip.
5-25 Harrington Garden
SW7 4JB London
Tel. +44 207 396 9696
More info about NH Harrington Hall Hotel London

Lillywhites and Piccadilly Circus
The Lillywhite’s sports store was established by James Lillywhite. The store has been at Piccadilly Circus since 1925.

Cross the road to Tower Records then walk up Regent Street, passing Austin Reed. Cross Regent Street and stop at the corner of Beak Street.

Many of the stores featured in this walk hold royal warrants. Royal warrants are issued by the Royal Household to companies providing services and goods to the Royal family.
Turn right at Beak Street and continue to Kingly Street. Turn left at Kingly Street, then right at Ganton Street.

Carnaby Street
Shellys have been selling their famous shoes since 1945.
Carnaby Street was established in the 1680s.

Walk along Ganton Street then turn left along Carnaby Street, then left again at Fouberts Place. At the end of Fouberts Place, turn left along Regent Street.

Hamleys and Regent Street
Hamleys was established in 1760 as "Noah’s Ark". The store was originally located in High Holburn. The current Regent street store was opened in 1981. Inventors of games would come to Mr Hamley in the hope he would sell them in his store. One such game was called Ping Pong. The store is now owned by a private consortium.
The lower section of Regent Street between Piccadilly Circus and Oxford Street is known as the Quadrant.

Return back along Regent Street and continue to Oxford Circus. Turn left at Oxford Circus and walk along Oxford Street. Turn left at New Bond Street and stop at the corner of Brook Street.

Fenwick and Bond Street
Fenwick was established in 1882 in Newcastle, and opened in Bond Street in 1891. It is a classic English department store and still independently-owned. It is the only road running from Piccadilly to Oxford Street and each road is separately numbered, making it confusing for visitors. Sotheby’s have been auctioneers since 1744 and the statue of the Egyptian goddess over their doorway dates from 1600 BC, making it the oldest outdoor sculpture in London.

Continue along New Bond Street, stopping at Smythson Stationers on the left hand side.

Smythson
Smythson was established in 1887 and are the world’s foremost stationers. They hold three royal warrants and produce stationery for the Royal houses of Europe, heads of state and the world’s fashion elite.

Continue along New Bond Street to Clifford Street

Gieves and Hawkes in Savile Row
Each store was separately established in the late 1700’s: Gieves were Nelson’s tailors and Hawkes were tailors to the Duke of Wellington.

Savile Row was originally laid out in the 1730’s but only came to prominence in the 1860’s when it gained its reputation for fine tailoring for men. Men adopted sombre blacks and greys, which made "cut and fit" the important aspects of men’s clothes - the hallmark of Savile Row style ever since.

Turn right at the end of Savile Row. Turn left along Old Bond Street, down to Piccadilly. Turn left along Piccadilly, passing the Burlington Arcade and cross the road at Duke Street. The Burlington Arcade is also worth a visit. The arcade was built in 1819 and typifies Mayfair tradition and luxury.

Fortnum and Mason, and Piccadilly
Established in 1705 and the store staff still wear tailcoats. There is a clock above the entrance to the store. The two founders of Fortnum and Mason are represented by the figures beside the clock who come out and bow to each other on the hour.

Go down Duke Street then turn left at Jermyn Street.

Jermyn Street
There are some delightful arcades and stores in this street Piccadilly market is set in the grounds of St James’ Church, the market includes a peaceful garden.
Jermyn Street was completed in the 1680’s but only St James’ Church at the far end towards Regent Street remained.

Continue along Jermyn Street, turn left to Piccadilly Circus

Royal Parks
There are 8 royal parks in Greater London, of which 5 - Hyde Park, St James’s Park, Regents Park, Green Park and Kensington Gardens are in central London. The other parks are Greenwich, Richmond and Bushy Park.
Much of the land occupied by the royal parks was acquired from the Church following the dissolution of the monasteries in the 1540s. The land was initially kept by the royals as private hunting grounds but was later made accessible to the public - Hyde Park being the first to be opened up.

The Royal Parks of London are lands originally owned by the monarchy of England or the United Kingdom for the recreation of the royal family. They are part of the hereditary possessions of the Crown.

The public does not have any legal right to use the Parks, as public access depends on the grace and favor of the Crown, although there may be public rights of way across the land. As part of its statutory management function the Agency permits the public to use the Parks for recreational purposes.

With increasing urbanization of London, some of these were preserved as freely accessible open space and became public parks. There are today 8 parks formally described by this name and they cover almost 2000 hectares of land in Greater London.

For emergencies you can call 999 or 112.

In 2006 101 was made available in some areas as a non-emergency number for police and local authorities in several areas in England and Wales.