Scan Magazine | Issue 7 | April 2009

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BEHIND THE SCENES BEYOND THE VALLEYDANISH BACON’S SIZZLING SUCCESS | EAT LIKE A VIKINGWELCOME CLAS OHLSON | JO BRAND ON SCANDINAVIANS

SCANM A G A Z I N E

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Scan Magazine | Contents

COVER FEATURE10 Innovative Minds I Beyond the Valley

DESIGN14 Say Bo to a good Concept | Danish furniture is alive and well18 Wild Swans | In Fine Feather20 We Love This | Stuff that matters

SCAN FOOD24 Eat like a Viking | Bronte’s Scandinavian Food28 Restaurant of the Month | Butterflies in my stomach at Papillon!

COLUMN29 Is it Just Me | Mette Lisby on Fashion Gurus

FEATURE30 An Evening with Jo Brand | At The Danish Club

SCAN TRAVEL32 Helsinki | Klaus K Hotel – a unique place to stay

SCAN BUSINESSBUSINESS FEATURES

36 Clas Ohlson I Bringing a new level of customer service to the UK40 Danish Bacon | Pink pigs and green energy48 “Ru xiang sui su” | Or when in Rome…50 ISS | Brushing away the gloom52 Law | Following the letter of the law

REGULARS49 Tax | Thinking of working for yourself?58 Recruitment | Campbell's Column60 How Was Your Day? | Martin Falch61 Column | The Board of Directors and Stakeholder Values62 Hotel of the Month | Radisson SAS Portman Hotel64 Chamber News | Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish and

Danish Chambers of Commerce for the UK

SCAN NEWS67 Scandinavian Newsflash

CULTURE69 Culture Calendar | Your Scandinavian Culture Events

Contents

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4 | Issue 7 | April 2009

Scan Magazine | Editor’s Note

Welcome to Spring 2009! Ihope that you had a relax-ing winter and that you areready to come out of hiber-nation and enjoy somewarmer weather soon!

We have more than a few good things in store for you thismonth. First in line is the story of how the Icelandic-bornKristjana turned a desperate experiment into an excep-tionally successful brand: Beyond the Valley. Since westarted this magazine it has become evident just howmuchexciting Scandinavian entrepreneurship there exists withinthe fashion industry for us to showcase. The Wild Swansstores (page 18) is yet another such success story: we canpromise that there will be many more of these to come.

And then we turn to Clas Ohlson, one of Scandinavia´smost well-known and liked chain stores. They haverecently opened their first store in the UK with plans forseveral more to come. A big welcome to them! And haveyou heard about the new “Nordic Diet”? In a veryinteresting article Bronte explains this new “cult” withinthe food industry and how youmay be better off if you starteating like a Viking (page 24).

Staying in the food department, this month’s specialreport is on Danish bacon and meat exporting. Bacon isan integral part of the traditional British breakfast and formany UK consumers bacon does mean Danish. Startingon page 40, Ian Welsh reports how the Danes areproducing bacon to high standards that in many respectsfar exceed what EU or UK legislation requires.

As you will have noticed we have new regular humoursection and this month we spoke to Jo Brand to hear whatshe really thinks about Scandinavian people. Apparentlywe are very clean! Of all the compliments out there, this isa very strange one. But all compliments count, as theysay, so compliment accepted.

Have a great Easter and see you next month

Thomas Winther

Dear Reader,

SCANM A G A Z I N E

Scan MagazineIssue 7 | April 2009

Published 06.04.2009ISSN 1757-9589

Published byScan Magazine Limited

Design & PrintLiquid Graphic Limited

EditorThomas Winther

Art DirectionMads E. Petersen

Copy-editorMark Rogers

ContributorsBarbara ChandlerIan WelshSigne HansenEmelie KruglyBronte BlomhojLinnéa MitchellAnna Maria EspsäterMette LisbyHelena WhitmoreMalcolm CampbellBengt SkarstamLee-Ann Cameron

Cover PhotoYiannis Katsaris

Sales DirectorTure Damtoft

Marketing ManagerHelene Oxfeldt Lauridsen

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Scan Magazine | Contributors

Barbara Chandler is thedesign writer for Homes &Property, the weekly Wed-nesday supplement of theLondon Evening Standard.

She has worked as a specialist writer oninteriors and decoration for over 30 years,contributing to many leading UK and Eu-ropean publications. Books she has writ-ten include The Home Design SourceBook, and Where to Get the Look. She isJournalist of the Year 2007 (as awarded bythe National Home Improvement Council).

Ian Welsh is a UK-basedindependent writer and ed-itor with nearly 15 yearsexperience in businesspublishing. With a back-

ground in corporate communications, Iannow specialises in corporate responsibil-ity and supply chain issues.

Signe Hansen has just fin-ished her MA in Journal-ism and is now working asa freelance reporter inLondon. Having previously

workedwith television, radio, web and localnews, the good story is always her priority.

Linnéa Mitchell is aSwedish freelance journal-ist, who came to London in2003 as a TV voiceover. Stillhere, with a fresh journal-

ism degree under her belt, she writes forboth Swedish and English magazines andis responsible for Scan Magazine’s archi-tecture column.

Bronte Blomhoj runsScandi Kitchen in London,a Scandinavian deli/cafe.Bronte studied in Edin-burgh and has a back-

ground in investment banking and entre-preneurial start-ups and has workedacross most of Europe. Bronte has beenLondon-based for the past 7 years where

she lives with her Swedish partner Jonasand their “mini-me”, 1 year old Astrid.Bronte is really bad at dancing, but verygood at making layer cake.

Emelie Krugly is responsi-ble for Scan Magazine'snews section and can becontacted any time regar-ding an event or story.

Emelie, a native Swede has been based inLondon for 3 years. Early on in her careershe worked on a number of Sweden'snewspapers including Sydsvenskan, Sma-landsposten and Norra Skane. After thentravelling extensively she settled with herEnglish partner in her favourite city, be-came a mother and now returns to herpassion, writing and journalism.

Anna Maria Espsäter, whodoes the magazine's travelfeatures, is a native of Swe-den, although based inLondon for many years.

Anna is a freelance travel and food writerspecialising in Scandinavia.

Mette Lisby is Denmark’sleading female comedian.She invites you to laughalong with her monthly hu-mour columns. Since her

stand-up debut in 1992, Mette has hostedthe Danish versions of “Have I Got NewsFor You” and “Room 101”. Mette currentlylives in London.

A Swede by birth, HelenaWhitmore is director of taxat Grundberg Mocatta Rak-ison based in London. Shehas been with the firm

since 1990, and an associate of the Char-tered Institute of Taxation since 2002. Shewrites regularly for Scan Magazine, andover the coming months will examine is-sues relating to setting up business in theUK, relevant tax laws, how to deal with pro-perty purchases and inheritance matters.

MalcolmCampbell.Havingread Chemistry at ImperialCollege London, Malcolmbegan his career in Re-search, moving after some

years into the Human Resource function.In 1991 he was invited to found an Execu-tive Search Company as a joint venturewith a major firm of Actuaries. The busi-ness is now independent, being owned byMalcolm Campbell. It has a worldwideclient list, and searches globally. Mal-colm’s other interests include theHorner’s Livery Company, as a Freemanof the City of London. He is also Chairmanof the Imperial College Trust.

Bengt Skarstam is an ex-ecutive coach, who createsbrain-holder value for hisclients. He has extensiveleadership experience in

operations and product developmentwithin the international arena.

Lee-Ann Cameron is aself-confessed Scandiphilewhomoved to London afterfinishing a postgraduatedegree in History of Art at

the University of Edinburgh. Lee-Ann cur-rently works for one of the major auctionhouses and works in the contemporaryart department.

Thomas Winther – Editor.Originally from Denmark,Thomas has a backgroundin Economic consultancyand holds a BA and a Mas-

ter in Economics. Prior to becoming theEditor of Scan Magazine he worked in theCity of London. He is now on a personalmission to take Brand Scandinavia to thenext level. Thomas lives in Blackheath,London with his much better half and 6month old son. Email: [email protected]

Contributors

Stanley’s & Son • c/o Karmarama • 4th floor • Elsely Court • 20-22 Great Titchfield Street • London W1W 8BE • Tel. 020 7612 1797/8 Fax. 020 7631 1779 • email. [email protected]

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stockholmoslohelsinkigothenburgcroydonclas ohlson has followed you to england and opened up a store in the whitgift centre, croydon. the next one is opening in the manchester arndale on april 30th. drop in and say hi.

clasohlson.co.ukHOME • HARDWARE • MULTIMEDIA • ELECTRICAL • LEISURE


Scan Magazine | Letters of The Month

Letters may be edited. Letters are only published with theconsent of the sender.Write to the editor: [email protected]

Dear Scan Magazine... Letters of the Month

Hi Thomas,

Thrilled to receive Scan Magazine now. Thanx!

Obviously London is the happening place, but thereare a few of us (Scandinavians) scattered about too,and we like to keep up! I'm one of a group ofNorwegians who have lived in Dorset for over 20years, we meet up once a month and as the nextmeeting is at my house you might get a few newsubscribers after that...

Keep up the good work.

Best wishes,Kristina

Hi Kristina

We would like to offer the members of your group a 6month free subscription to Scan Magazine. In returnwe hope that you or your group members will get intouch if you come across a good story that you wouldlike us to cover. We hope to get regular updates fromDorset!

All the best,Thomas

Good morning Thomas,

I've just finished reading the latest issue and thoroughlyenjoyed it.

If you get amoment, youmight be interested in a trip thata friend and I completed last March in Norway. Essen-tially we took a 4x4 and a motorbike (bike only made itsome of the way) from Bergen to the Nordkapp, camp-ing most of the route in temperatures that ranged from-10 to -21C. Some of the pictures are absolutely stunningand really exemplify the pure natural beauty of this vast,and in parts quite wild, part of Scandinavia.

It was a trip that my Grandfather completed manydecades ago and the sad thing was that he died on thevery weekend I was going to share my plans, kit prepa-ration and maps with him. The trip therefore took on anextra special significance but to be honest it's hard to topthe emotion you feel being out in the middle of nowhere,hundreds of Kms above the Arctic Circle in -15 seeingthe Nordlyset for the first time!

I was thinking that maybe you could add a Scandinavianadventure section to the magazine. The magazine issuch a celebration of all things Scandinavian and natu-ral beauty is a big part of what makes it so special.

Have a good weekendRichard

Hi Richard,

Thanks for this email. It sounds like a great idea with a“Scandinavian Adventure” section. I suggest we launchthis in the May issue, starting with a selection of yourpictures.

Here is a brand new appeal to all our readers: pleasesend us any pictures from your travel adventures inScandinavia which you would like to share!

All the bestThomas

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Beyond the Valley is the result of the three creativeminds of Kristjana S. Williams, Kate Harwood and JoJackson. Originally set up as a non-profit concept storeand gallery to work as a springboard for new designers,it has grown into a trend-spotter considered one of thebest in the UK. It is successfully connecting businesseswho want to stay in touch with the next generationdesigners. Icelandic-born Kristjana tells Scanmagazinehow a necessary experiment became a fantastic brand.

Retail success stories are rare in times like these, but oneis thriving more than ever thanks to a brilliant idea.Beyond the Valley, which got its name from the old RussMeyer movies and the idea of a community in a valley, hasbeen listed by the Art’s Superbrand Council as one of theUK’s Coolbrands for three consecutive years alongsidebrands such as Alexander McQueen and Chanel. It hasalso been listed as one of the top 50 design brands towatch in The Observer’s ‘The Future 500 line-up’, andmost recently been selected as one of Europe’s Top 20Fashion boutiques for the new online portal Farfetch.com.

Taking matters into their own hands

It started with a lack of inspiration in the final year atCentral St Martin’s college in 2003, when it suddenlydawned on graphic design student Kristjana and her twofriends Jo and Kate that the real world was lurking around

the corner. “At that time not much advice was offeredabout how to actually get your work out there andrecognised, it was more about art for art’s sake,” she saysas we sit down in the bright Soho store tucked in behindthe legendary Carnaby Street. The shelves displayeverything you can imagine in every form, colour andshape, from fashion clothes and bags through cards,furniture, wallpaper, to jewellery, posters and accessories.Here new designers have the chance to display their work,as an introduction to the market and to see what works.

It was this opportunity that Kristjana and her friends weremissing back in 2003, so they decided to set up threetemporary design stores themselves, which was the startof an amazing journey. Five years later they haveestablished a permanent shop/gallery in Newburgh Street(showcasing more than 100 designers), an online shop, aswell as a consultation branch called Beyond the ValleyInsight, a combined effort with the brand experts ‘i-am’and meant to help businesses that want to stay in touchwith what’s going on in the buzzing streets of London.

Quite a remarkable story for a girl from Iceland who didelectronics as her first degree. Having decided that shewanted to be an artist, she went to London to do anotherdegree. “I just had this feeling immediately when I camehere, that this was where I wanted to be. I love Iceland and


Scan Magazine | Cover Feature | Beyond the Valley

Innovative Minds: Beyond the ValleyBy Linnéa Mitchell | Photos: Yiannis Katsaris

“I just had this feeling immediately whenI came here, that this was where I wantedto be… ultimately I knew that here I’d beable to do everything that I want to”

I am dreaming of having a summer house there, butultimately I knew that here I’d be able to do everything thatI want to,” she says. Soon she embarked on her graphicdesign course at St Martin’s, where she would meet Kateand Jo.

The first step

Three years later, close to graduation time, Kristjana andJo took matters into their own hands together withmarketing and fashion student Kate. Thanks to agenerous landlord, they were given the use of three emptyshops in Covent Garden. “We encouraged the otherstudents to show their work in these shops,” she says. “Itgot everybody in the mood of understanding that yes youcan be an artist, but you can also make a living from it bysupplementing other things alongside it.”

The success of the project was enough to make up theirminds. “We then went away and decided that we weregoing to open up a concept store based on promoting newdesigners. We wanted to be on the street where theadvertising executives and everybody around would comearound to see,” she says. In 2005, they opened their first

store and not long after they had high profile names suchas Apple and BMW popping in just to pick up some of thelatest trends. “We were just getting work through beingwho we are and what we were doing,” she says.

Secrets of success

The thing that has probably led to their success is theevents, starting with a temporary ‘sister’ guerrilla store inHelsinki, which later led to a big exhibition in London withFinish designers. Other events include an exclusivecollection for Top Shop called ‘Darkside of the Valley’,curating Wunderville – a Victorian freak-show – during theLondon Design Festival, hosting a temporary shop forBenetton’s Fabrika, as well as numerous press nights andother events in their perfectly located Soho spot. And thereare many plans for the future.

Being best friends and working together cannot always beeasy though. “I think we all have different personalitiesand strengths we take from each other, for sure, but that’swhat made it really work in the end. And the fact that weall simply believed that there was a need for a thing likethis.” Kristjana has an incredible energy, and there is no



Kristjana and Jo at work in the office. Inside the Soho store.

end to her enthusiasm. “It feels great to have helped somany designers. We still help so many designers withtheir portfolios and give them advice on what will work andnot. It keeps us alive and inspired.”

Dealing with tough times

However, designing is one thing, but how did they get theknowledge to run a business and shop? “We did go into ithead-first,” she laughs. “People normally develop aproduct first and then open a shop, but we’ve doneeverything back to front, so we learned as we went along.”Having finally got the business going, surely it must beeven more frustrating to hit a credit crunch. “Quite theopposite,” she says. “For us, we’re just so used to nothaving funds so being on this scale is something that justfeels natural.

“I just find that – especially with designers – everybody isgetting more creative. Everybody feels like there’s moreopportunity and more to offer. Customers are feeling verydifferent about what they are buying and I think thatthey’ve decided to support us because they can see thatit’s made by the heart and not in the thousands.

“I would say to young designers to take this time and justrelax and design as much as you can with the resourcesthat you have and forget about using diamonds and lacing,just use your mind to create alternatives because that’swhat people really appreciate.”

It is hard not to get inspired by talking to Kristjana,because she makes it sound so simple. And perhaps it is,I think, as I spot the sun coming through the windows nextto their recent product launch on the wall: a wallpaperdesigned by Cole & Son, the British luxury wallpaperspecialists.

Next step for Beyond the Valley this year is focusing ontheir own range ready for wholesale, as well as some bigplans on the other side of the Atlantic. I cannot wait tohear the next chapter of this story.

In the meantime, if you want to get away from gloomynews and pick up some bright vibes about the futureinstead, just go Beyond the Valley and soak it in. You willnot regret it.



www.beyondthevalley.comwww.beyondthevalleystore.comwww.beyondthevalleyinsight.comFor wholesale enquiries contact:[email protected]

Above: The Spring/Summer Collection.

Below: The Winter Collection.


Scan Magazine | Design | BoConcept

Right in the heart of London, on a long and busy shoppingstreet equally famous for furniture and electronics, is astylish little bit of Denmark. This is BoConcept onTottenham Court Road, where enough of the store staffspeak Danish to create a haven for any homesickcompatriots (and apparently several drop by regularly fora reassuring chat...).

The average Londoner, however, is unaware of all that,nor do they realise that “bo” in Danish means “life” – orliving, if you like. They are simply attracted by thefurniture. It follows in those best traditions of modernDanish design which dominated the middle of the lastcentury, being simple, elegant and well-made. There is alot of timber, including ash, walnut and oak, but alsolacquers, chrome, steel, glass and leather – theimpression is elegant and metropolitan rather thanchunky and rural. It has a certain sophistication – indeedit is an imposing row of BoConcept high stools on square

steel stands that line the bar in the recent James Bondmovie, Quantum of Solace.

“Our designs will certainly fit in with your Londonlifestyle,” promises the company's president and CEO,Viggo Molholm, the second generation of a Danish familyfirm founded in the 1950s. Now there are stores all aroundthe world, and not just in the major European cities, butalso in New York, Auckland, Dubai, Moscow, and Beijing.“We love the energy and vibrancy of urban living,” adds MrMolholm. In London, a second BoConcept store opened inNotting Hill last year, and there are also concessions inthe two most famous London department stores:Selfridges and Harrods.

This is, indeed, a big international brand, and here in theUK retail manager Zoe Shields is one of its most enthu-siastic advocates (and the longest serving UK employee).“Our style is highly contemporary,” she says, “but classic



Say Bo to a good Concept– Barbara Chandler finds Danish furniture alive and well – and for living in London

By Barbara Chandler | Photos: BoConcept

“It's not just about space,it's about how space is used”

at the same time – you won't find our furniture going outof fashion.” Around two thirds of the range stays inproduction from year to year. A chunky magazine-stylefree catalogue of 196 pages details the huge choice ofproducts, which include long low modular sofas, elegantdining tables, slim-line chairs, and comfortable beds. Inthe background are unobtrusive storage units, fromsculptural open shelving, to capacious cupboards andwardrobes.

“We work within a basic palette of neutrals,” adds Zoe.Colours range, for example, from a smooth white leatherto a dramatic black velour. In between is a fine browntweed flecked with cream, and a charcoal grey felt. Othersfrom the large fabric range resemble navy denim or havea metallic sheen. In store, samples are liberated from thestiff formality of pattern books. Instead, generous piecesof fabric are suspended from hangers on a rack, clearlyvisible, and easy to spread over furniture instantly to getthe look. “We use textiles to soften and update our sofaand chair designs,” explains Zoe, showing her most recentfavourite, a stylish yellow felt.

Function is of the essence. This is furniture that quietlygets on with the job – indeed sometimes with two jobs –witness the stool that turns into a bed, and the bed with ahidden storage compartment. Coffee tables are forrelaxing, eating and storage, with shelves that pull up forTV suppers, revealing useful compartments underneath.Dining tables have robust well-engineered mechanismsto extend their tops, and chairs can tilt back for optimumrelaxation. “All the while, we are trying for furniture that isas clever as possible,” says Zoe.

Molholm also promises furniture to “express yourpersonality.” And it is the unique flexibility of these designsthat achieves this. Many of the ranges comprise a “kit” ofcomponents - tops, legs, seats, cushions, bases and soon in different styles/sizes which can be combined intoyour own individual piece. When you add in all the fabricpossibilities, there is a staggering breadth of choice.



From the top: Design your living space at the BoConcept shop.

Middle: Sleeping in style. Right: Viggo Molholm

Below: Livingroom with storage.

Indeed, latterly the company has started to worry lest theirdesigns are paradoxically too flexible, with so manyoptions and permutations that the customer is muddledrather than inspired. Accordingly, they have introduced abrand new design service, with consultants operating inall the stores. A special software programme instantlyturns room measurements into a scale drawing. Thenpossible furniture arrangements can be shown to scale,and altered as desired. Finally, you can look at a 3D view.

But the best news is that a consultant will come to yourhome, free of charge. First of all, he or she will talk youthrough your lifestyle. “The idea is to get a feel for how aclient lives,” explains Zoe. “It's not just about space, it'sabout how space is used.” Maybe a client does not comeover as a family man in store, but a home visit reveals threekids who live on the sofa glued to a huge TV. “Sometimeswhat people think they want isn't really what they need,”adds newly-trained design consultant Nora Leates. (Allconsultants have several weeks of in-house training).

Then comes the measuring – again something which acustomer often gets wrong. “Remember, mistakes –

which mean changes – are very costly,” remarks Zoe.“Clients do so appreciate the trouble we take to make sureeverything will first of all get through the door, and then fitits space and its purpose.” Consultants can also advise ingeneral terms on colours and materials for the rest of theroom

Accessories are the finishing touch. A big choice oflighting includes adjustable floor and table models. Vasesand bowls have an exotic aura, in glass and mango wood,or with a silver, copper or gold metallic finish. There arealso boxes, candlesticks and even a selection ofsculptures. Cushions are in leather, fur, linen, felt, velvetand even ethnic kelim weaves, with hand-applied detailssuch as beads, buttons and embroidery. Intricate texturesand bold geometric patterns are bang on trend. Rugs areequally unusual, in circles, squares and rectangles incowhide, wool or polyester loop.



For more information, visit www.boconcept.co.uk

Top: UFO pendant, Como Sofa. Below: Bed with Storage and a sideboard.

Imagine Scandinavia's best designers and all theunknown quirky secrets of Scandinavian design. Thenthink of up and coming brands that are not yet exposedin the UK combined with a relaxed atmosphere with atrained stylist. Add all of this up and you have WildSwans.

The Scandinavian fashion designer boutique ‘Wild Swans’has recently opened up a third shop in Mill Hill. The namecomes from the fairytale The Wild Swans by HansChristian Andersen. Why? It perfectly describes the rangeof Designers as well as the Customers – beautiful andgracious birds yet 'edgy'. The story behind Wild Swans isalmost like a fairy tale: the Chiswick shop in the hipDevonshire Road, which opened in 2006, was sosuccessful that within a year another had opened in CrossStreet, Islington and now a third shop in Mill Hill Broadwaythis March.

Dane Caroline van Luthje is the lady behind the successfulconcept. It all started in 2003 when she opened TrashCouture on Westbourne Grove, Notting Hill, with DanishDesigner Ann Wiberg. In 2006 she decided to go solo. Witha background as a freelance producer for commercialsand feature films she decided to try something new andcreate her perfect boutique.

“Denmark has so many lovely designers and I rememberhow I always used to do all my shopping when I wenthome to Denmark. Fashion is the third biggest export inDenmark and we have a very good reputation. Then Idecided to add Swedish and Norwegian designers givingthe shop more of a concept.”

Caroline has chosen all the shop locations for theirindividuality. “Both Chiswick and Islington have a villagefeel, which is hard to find in central London.”

Caroline and her team like to make a real effort for theircustomers. It's very much about creating a relaxing andwelcoming atmosphere to shop in. Champagne is alwaysserved at the weekend and a big basket full of toys isprovided for children. They embrace the idea of personalstyling and many of the staff are experienced personalstylists. Caroline also organizes special events in the shops;at least twice a year they invite a designer who presents theirwork, with special offers and discounts. The next events willbe on 29th April in the Islington store and 30th April inChiswick. Swedish jewellery designer ‘Promise’ will be therebetween 7-9pm. Caroline and her staff will also offer a 10%discount to all customers showing a copy of this article.

www.wild-swans.com


Wild Swans – in fine featherBy: Emelie Krugly | Photos: Wild Swans

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Scan Magazine | Design | We Love This

We love this...There is so much cool stuff that we would like to show you. In fact we love this!

Red Spot Teapot 1.3LtrGreengate's unmistakable styleand refined simplicity can beused to add warmth and life toyour home. This glazed stone-ware teapot is finished in redwith white spots (dishwashersafe). Retails at £38.www.mithus.co.uk

Roseberry Summer ScentedCandle SetThis beautiful set of threescented votive candles fromGreengate would make an ex-cellent gift or a treat for your-self. Roseberry Summer is abeautiful fragrance reminis-cent of warm summer nights &mixed summer berries.£19.50 www.mithus.co.uk

Modular BedCustomise your newbed by choosing frame,surface, headboardand leg design.Example in black-stained oak venner£1456www.boconcept.co.uk

Bicycle ToolkitThis kit has everythingyou need to maintainyour bicycle including apump. Retails at £9.99www.clasohlson.co.uk

Eco USB DriveUSB stick made from bamboo.Keep your documents safe andhelp protect the environment.www.usbcompany.co.uk

LUSYQuilt coverand pillow-cases bySigga Heimis.Retails at £17at IKEA.uk

Scan Magazine | Design | We Love This

Kids love this...

A Danish children’s book sensation has

come to the UK. Taynikma Books are a huge

success in Scandinavia, with over 300,000

copies sold. Awarded the national Orla

award for best children’s graphic book as

voted by Danish children in 2007.

And it’s no wonder that kids love Taynikma.

These charming books pioneer a dynamic

new combination of words and pictures. By

mixing traditional prose with cartoon-inspired

comic book sequences, the story unfolds with

compelling plotlines and exciting action.

Teachers and parents are equally vocal

about the Taynikma books. It is one thing to

teach a child to read – it’s another to teach a

child to enjoy reading. With its powerful visu-

als Taynikma is created to appeal instantly to

boys and girls from around the age of seven

(the possibly reluctant reader), while promot-

ing the joy of reading.

In the books we follow the adventures of

the young villager Koto who sets off on a per-

ilous journey to save his family. He faces chal-

lenges and makes new friends in a world of

magic, weird creatures and mystical clans

living underground.

Available in all good bookshops and

online. Visit Taynikma: www.taynikma.co.uk

See the Taynikma drawing competition for

kids on page 68

Taynikma – Danish Children’s Books now in the UK


Scan Magazine | Design | Advertorial


Scan Magazine | Design | Advertorial

Howmany hours a week do you spend picking up clothesthat have ended up in the wrong place? On a chair in thekitchen, on the towel rail in the bathroom, on the floorby the bed, on the sofa by the TV? It’s a small problemyou share with many others. But there are solutions tomost things in life - especially life at home. IKEA has apoint of view about storing and organising in thebedroom.

IKEA has spent thousands of hours working out how longa sock is, how much space you can save by folding yourjumpers, the easiest way of finding your trousers and howyou can put your hands on the pair of shoes you’re alwayslooking for. Storage in the bedroom should be easy. Evenactivities such as relaxing, resting and sleeping attractaccessories around them. That’s why IKEA designed PAXwardrobes and KOMPLEMENT interior fittings.

The PAX and KOMPLEMENT range is designed to copewith your everyday storage needs. All PAX wardrobes fromIKEA come with a ten year everyday quality guarantee asstandard. Why not try and build your dream wardrobe withthe online planning tool at IKEA.co.uk/bedroom. There’seven an assembly service if you need it - ask in store formore details.

An organised bedroom will solve all of your troubles andmakes for a better everyday life. Having the perfectstorage solution to meet all your needs will not only giveyou a tidy mind, but sound sleep too.

For more information and useful tips visit IKEA.co.uk.

PS. A man’s sock, by the way, is around 17cm long andtwo socks rolled up together have a diameter of around7cm. Just thought you might want to know.

PAX it all in...By IKEA

There’s a buzz happening in the food world at themoment and it is all because of Nordic food. Many majordiets of the world have had their moment in the spotlightas we try to find the healthiest way of living – not least inthe last two decades which have been dominated by theMediterranean diet and way of eating. However, this alllooks set to change with the ‘New Nordic Diet’ whichclaims to be significantly healthier.

The research project, led by Professor Arne Astrup ofCopenhagen University, wants to develop the food conceptof the ‘New Nordic Diet’, built around the local ingredientsand culture of the Nordic countries. This project is the

largest of its type in the world and puts Denmark at theforefront internationally in helping to solve problems suchas obesity and learning difficulties (closely linked tonutritional intake). It is no surprise that the world’s mediahave taken serious notice of this and are discussingwhether the Nordic way of eating really could potentiallyhelp solve some of the world’s health (namely obesity)issues.

South versus North

How the Nordic diet differs: the Mediterranean diet verymuch focuses on olive oils – high in monounsaturated fatand omega-3 fatty acids – and high vitamin C vegetables


Scan Magazine | Food | Eat like a Viking

Eat like a VikingBy Bronte Blomhoj | Photos: Cees van Roeden

such as peppers. It also features a lot of tomatoes, high invitamin A and potassium. Monkfish and other similar fishfrequently used are high in protein and low in fat. Wheat ispresent in bread and pasta and provides the additionalfibre – and meat and poultry levels are kept relatively low,reducing the intake of unhealthy saturated fats.

The Nordic diet uses cold pressed rapeseed oils – high inmonosaturated fats and containing much more omega-3and omega-6 than olive oil. All types of cabbage arepopular in Scandinavia and they have huge levels ofantioxidants and are thought to reduce cancer risks; theyalso have Vitamin K and omega-3 fatty acids. Add to thisthe wealth of amazing berries – from cloudberries tolingonberries (cowberries) and blueberries: incredibly richin vitamins and antioxidants and containing plenty ofnutrients like potassium, calcium, magnesium andphosphorus. The fish is herring, salmon and cod – you getomega-3 oils from herring and salmon, and cod is low infat and protein. Instead of being dominated by wheat,Nordic people have more rye, barley and oat in their diets,which contain far more antioxidants. Game would be thepreferred meat of the Nordic diet – elk, hare, game birdsand moose (basically stuff that has been less intensivelyfarmed).

Harald Bluetooth loved his herring

Eating from the land has always been central to the Nordicway of life and is present in all our food history and in ourpresent daily living. The Vikings enjoyed a diet of grain,fish, cabbage and game to make them strong and healthy,and fit to travel to explore many faraway places such asNorfolk. Today, Scandinavians in the different regions stillreflect this heritage in their eating habits, although we doa lot less pillaging than we used to.

The Vikings ate seasonally. Sadly, nobody had time tocarve any cookbooks into any stones so we have to rely onarchaeological evidence to support assumptions aboutwhat the Vikings ate – but it is certain from the evidencethat they relied a great deal on fishing in the south andgame hunting in the north. They farmed rye and wheat;meat and fish were smoked, dried and fermented so theycould keep longer – preserving traditions that still holdtrue today in some parts of Scandinavia. In terms of fruitand berries, the Vikings relied greatly on anything fromapples to blueberries to rosehips and cloudberries.

Vegetables such as cabbage and beets have been foundto have been extensively used during that time as well.

What Mamma used to say

It may come as no great surprise to many Scandinaviansthat their dietary heritage is in the spotlight: our mothershave been telling us since we were nippers to eat our ryebread and they used to let us loose on the berry bushes inthe light summer evenings. We’ve been fed herring andmackerel in abundance and taught that cod roe is a treat,not a punishment. Ask most Scandinavians and they’llswear allegiance to the humble rye bread and the high fi-bre crisp bread as their preferred bread over anymass pro-duced white wheat sandwich bread. However, the questionis not about Scandinavians continuing to eat what they’vebeen eating for thousands of years – but more about if thisway of eating is the right way forward for other cultures.

The study is expected to take a number of years and in-corporates testing food in schools and homes as well asin the lab. However, with such great interest there is littledoubt we will see an increasing interest in Scandinavianfood products and recipes over the coming years.

So, how do you eat like a Nordic?It’s pretty simple, really – and you can make smallchanges very quickly to your diets to reap the benefits.

Here are our Top Ten Tips

1. Swap the wheat bread for rye and fibre crisp bread.You’ll eat less as it is slow releasing and filling.

2. Make open sandwiches. Less bread, focus on what youput on top. No need for big lumps of mayo to hold it alltogether. You spend time making it look pretty – eatingwith your eyes is also surprisingly filling.

3. Get into Herring. It’s a great little friend and it tastesreally nice and has loads of omega 3. Try the Scandi-navian pickled herring – it is less sour than the Germanand Dutch varieties and more tender. The good news isthere’s lots of herring around in the sea still.

4. Mackerel is a fantastic fish any way you prepare it. It’salso reasonably cheap and a great alternative if you’renot ready for herring – but still contains buckets ofomega 3 oils. Try mackerel in tomato on dark rye breadas an open sandwich.



5. Eat your porridge. If you don’t like porridge, eat muesliwith lots of oats, barley and rye flakes and some tastydried berries such as blueberries and cranberries.Make your own muesli in a jiffy by buying theingredients in a health food store (tip: add a spice tomake it exciting, such as a sprinkle of cinnamon).

6. Be friends with the berries, especially seasonal oneswhen they are bursting with flavour and nutrients. Beconcerned about food miles out of season, but knowthat frozen berries are also excellent and do not losemuch of their nutritional value at all so you’ll still getgreat anti-oxidants and vitamins.

7. Cabbage is your new friend. It may make you let out afew sneaky ones in the beginning if you’re not used toit, but your body adapts and you’ll feel great. Pickledred cabbage is great as a side dish with your eveningmeal, shredded white cabbage in your salad.

8. Catch a moose. Oh well, this might be a bit tricky. Butwhen you choose meat, try to include some game and

ask your butcher for meat that is proper free range andnot intensively farmed. Yes, it’s a bit pricier but so fullof flavour you don’t need as much. A lot of specialitybutchers can order game for you. Game meat is verylow in fat.

9. Eat sitting down. Don’t rush. Don’t eat on the go. It’snot very good for the digestion and you’ll never catch aScandinavian trying to munch an open herringsandwich whilst waiting for Bus 38.

10.Don’t be too strict about it. It’s not a quick fix diet, it’sa way of eating better and giving your body what itneeds in order to function well and for a long time.

Bronte Blomhoj is the owner of Scandinavian Kitchen, acafe/grocery store that truly believes the Nordic diet is theway forward and that soon everyone will eat rye bread forlunch.

www.scandikitchen.co.uk



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I was very excited to try the chic Chelsea restaurantPapillon after hearing great reviews from friends andcolleagues. Papillon (which means butterfly in French) isa well-kept neighbourhood secret where locals can dineout for a delectable meal or a special occasion. Danish-born Søren Jessen opened Papillon in 2006, eight yearsafter opening his other exquisite restaurant 1Lombard inthe City and the proud bearer of a Michelin star. Theinterior of Papillon was designed by Russell Sage and iselegant and classy with a wraparound banquette thatlooks out to the rest of the tables and the street. Greenleather chairs and individual table lamps provideadditional comfort and subtle lighting to invite diners tounwind and enjoy the experience.

Although it was early in the week, wewere persuaded by ourhostess to have a glass of champagne to start. At the time,it seemed a bit decadent but in fact it was a fitting pre-cel-ebration of chef David Duverger’s culinary performanceover the rest of the evening. We settled in quickly to the re-laxed, convivial atmosphere and I beganmymeal with juicypan fried scallops in a springy leek compote and gentle saf-fron butter sauce - each bitemelting inmymouth. My part-ner, who lived in France for four years, went with the Frenchclassic and Papillon speciality, steak tartare with salad.

As a main course, I chose duck, cooked to an enticing rosécolour served with golden turnips and carmelized orange

that framed the rich meat and gave an added zing to thedish. My partner had the special of the night, John Dory, atasty white fish with haricots verts and tomatoes on the side.Our wine was the BlauburgunderMazzon 2005, also knownas Pinot Noir, which tasted of black cherries, truffles and ahint of tobacco and did not overpower ourmeal in the slight-est. This wine comes from Italy near the Austrian border andis one that I have never tried. The wine list at Papillon is ex-tensive and this suggestion was most welcome.

To finish, we indulged in the confit of grapes in rum withrum raisin ice cream and le citron “à ma façon,” lemonmeringue in a cup made in the chef’s particular way. Bythe time we left, every other table was taken and it didn’tsurprise me at all. An otherwise normal Tuesday nighthad magically turned into a very romantic evening.Whether it was the charming French staff or the glass ofchampagne to start, I’m not sure but my mood was liftedso as to enjoy my surroundings and my dinner guest justthat much more. I suppose it is the authentic joie de vivrethat makes Papillon special and as I floated out the door,for a split second I thought I might just be walking out ontothe streets of Paris. Obviously I was still in London but it’sgreat to know that a little piece of France is so nearby.


Restaurant of the Month

Fjärilar i magen på Papillon!(Butterflies in my stomach at Papillon!) By Lee-Ann Cameron | Photos: Papillon

Papillon, 96 Draycott Avenue, London SW3 3AD0207 225 2555, www.papillonchelsea.co.uk

Scan Magazine | Column | Is it Just Me...

Or does anyone else feel slightlyworld-weary when fashion gurus,with their usual annoying enthusi-asm, announce this Spring’s “new bigthing”: Faded blue jeans - 80s Style!

Dedicated scientists are working roundthe clock to increase our life-expectancy to120, but sometimes you’ve got to ask your-self: is it really all that desirable? I mean,how many times is it humanly bearable tosee deadbeat fashion items return, hailedas the “new” thing? I’m talking pastelshade, Miami Vice suits and ponchos!

The “new big thing” has always beenaround before, in clothing, music andfashion. Nothing’s really new. It seemsthat apart from a few technical subtletieslike TV and computers, not one originalidea has emerged in the past 100 years!And every time an item resurfaces wehave to watch self-important teenagers

under the delusion that it’s invented solelyfor THEM. As I did, 16 years old in my newA-line dress and my Mom said: “Oh, I hadone of those when I was your age.”

I don’t think so! The A-line was totallynew! Designed especially for my genera-tion; we were the peak of humanity. Wehad ghetto-blasters! When the A-line sur-faced years later the second time (in mycount) I still thought it fun. I thought apiece of fashion returning was a coinci-dence. A fun yet rare occurrence causedby the fact that fashion, when I was ateenager, was so cool that the world sim-ply craved for it to come back. But whenA-line has come and gone the fourth timearound, it dawns on you: Everything is arepeat!

The only good news is that our attentionspan gets shorter and shorter, so thespeed with which fashion reappears

escalates considerably. Soon it’ll be on amonthly basis! And when I reach old age,so determinedly fought for by scientists,there’ll be a weekly turnover. So I canwear my A-line dress and be fashionable,punctually on say, Tuesdays. And at a 120,that will probably be how often I canarouse myself to go out, anyway.

Mette Lisby is Denmark’s leading femalecomedian. She invites you to laugh alongwith her monthly humour columns. Sinceher stand-up debut in 1992, Mette hashosted the Danish versions of “Have I GotNews For You” and “Room 101”. Mettecurrently lives in London.

IS IT JUST ME... By Mette Lisby

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It is not an exaggeration to say that Jo Brand hasentertained comedy fans all over the world. Canada,Australia and Norway are just a few of the places she hasperformed with her sharp punch-lines and hilariousself-deprecation. But she is, as most will know, not onlyfamous for her stand-up performances but also for herparticipation in numerous TV shows such as Have I GotNews For You and IQ.

Still, Lizette Bang, Director of The Danish Club – a privatemembers’ club for social and businessmeetings – scoopedan exclusive performance with Brand. Brand, whofrequently performs live in front of around 1,500 people,treated 115 dinner guests to an intimate show and sharedher thoughts on the experience with Scan Magazine.

Taking over from Mette Lisby, who had entertained theguests superbly, Brand still managed to turn up thelaughter just by entering the scene in her inimitable way.To prove that she had, as she said, done her homework,

she started out with a couple of remarks on the DanishCrown Prince’s recent sledge accident. Reflecting on whatwould have been the reaction to something like that in theUK, she noticed: “If that had been Prince Charles youknow, we would have pissed ourselves over here. But youDanes actually seem to have respect for your RoyalFamily.” Adding: “Really you should move on!”

But that was about it when it came to pointing out anyScandinavian oddities and actually the one who got thehardest beating in Brand’s show was Jo Brand herself.The self-deprecation was received well by the audienceand when leaving the stage, Brand was, in true teen-starstyle, swarmed by enthusiastic dinner guests, who wantedher autograph or picture.

So how do you think your performance at the Danish Clubwent tonight?

The Danish Club was great, a really friendly crowd and veryappreciative. They joined in so it all felt very comfortable,


Scan Magazine | Feature | An evening with Jo Brand

An evening with Jo Brand – at The Danish Club

By Signe Hansen | Photos: The Danish Club

and I thought Mette was great too. Her comedy is verysharp, very intelligent and very witty. I liked the way shedelivered, there is no way I could do a stand-up comedyshow in a language that was not my own.

How do you find Scandinavian people in general?

They are very clean and very smart people! Englishpeople can be very scruffy and dirty. As a nation we arenot that bothered about how we look, only the richpeople and no-one likes them anyway!

How does your husband feel about all your jokesabout him and your life together?

He does not mind really. That is the whole thing aboutcomedy; the things I say are not really true, I don’tmean them - that’s what I tell him anyway.

Are there any negative sides of life as a stand-up co-median?

That would be the occasional male dominance. I getreally irritated about male domination. A lot of peoplemake the assumption that women are not good comicsand there are really low expectations of femalecomedians.

So is it hard to keep your femininity whilst beingfunny?

Yes very. Women are judged on appearance. If you arevery feminine in your appearance, it will distract fromyour performance because that will be on the mind ofthe audience.

When asked if she is a feminist Brand answers with aresounding “but of course!” There is no doubt she is alady of strong opinions and luckily for the audience atthe Danish Club and up-and-coming female comics allover the world, she does not mind sharing them.

To become a member of The Danish Club:Email [email protected] or callThe Danish Club on 07545 11 9339.www.danishclub.co.uk

Whilst our practising consultants and advanced medicaltechnology are outstanding, it is the very special caring ethosthat truly defines St. Anthony’s Hospital.

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The Finnish capital of Helsinki has been growing steadilyas a city break destination, both for business andpleasure in recent years. “Helsinki is both fun andmanageable,” says Marc Skvorc, General Manager andowner of Klaus K Hotel, a unique place to stay. Originallyfrom the U.S., but with five years in Helsinki under his belt,Marc is happy to sing the praises of his new home. “Thecity has a vibrant, energetic nightlife; many excellentmuseums and art galleries; design is paramount; fashionis stunning; you are surrounded by nature; it’s just FUN atdifferent intellectual levels,” he enthuses.

Helsinki as a city is easy to get around, compact andfriendly, without that overwhelming “big city feel”. Instead

you get the impression of being close to the countrysideand the great outdoors, with water and wilderness on yourdoorstep. The winter season is great, but in spring andsummer Finnish people and the Finnish landscape itselfcome alive like no other time of year. Boats ply the watersof Helsinki harbour, the parks start filling up with sun-starved Finns and it’s a great time to be out and about.

Over a number of years Helsinki has become one of theworld’s most popular conference and incentivedestinations and as more business travellers discover thecity’s charms, more are returning on holiday to see whatthe city has to offer the leisure traveller. Hotel Klaus K isequally popular with both, having catered to all kinds of


Scan Magazine | Travel | Helsinki

HelsinkiBy Anna Maria Espsäter I Photos: Visit Finland and Klaus K

Pho

to:K

ariP

alsi

la

Downtown Helsinki and the waterfront.

different visitors during its time as a hotel. Opened in1914, it has a long and illustrious history as a uniquebuilding in Helsinki. A hotel since 1932, it acquired thename Klaus Kurki in 1938, hence Klaus K. “The propertybecame available and we targeted it for significantrenovation and reopening in November 2005,” says MarcSkvorc. “It’s unique in the sense that it’s independentlyowned and unaffiliated to any chain.”

There’s a special ethos at Klaus K that gives it its goodatmosphere and staff are very involved sincemany of themhave been there since the opening of the hotel. The hotelphilosophy is based on the Finnish national epic, TheKalevala, and there’s a strong historical theme inevidence. It’s also refreshingly different to the big chainhotels and although there are many business travellerswho choose to stay here, these often fall into thecategories of small businesses and the creativeprofessions, who enjoy its ambience.

Although there’s plenty to see and do in the city, a few daysare adequate to get a good feel for the place. “You cancome to Helsinki on a two or three day trip and really getto see a lot and not feel rushed or tired,” Marc Skvorccomments. He adds with a wry smile; “Remember tocatch up on your sleep before coming to Helsinki. It’s a funtown at night and clubs, such as the Klaus K’s own Ahjo,are open until 4 a.m.” If sight-seeing and shopping all day,followed by partying all night is your thing, Helsinki hasplenty of options from visits to Sauna Island andSuomenlinna World Heritage Site, to Cossack Nights andmidnight cruises. For those with a bit more time on theirhands, there are a number of outdoor activities of aslightly more strenuous kind that can be sampled eitheron the outskirts of Helsinki, or in the centre, from sailingand fishing to hiking and cycling.

Helsinki is increasingly becoming a year-round desti-nation with business travellers preferring the winter



Toscanini dining area. Top: Baltic Herring. Below: Leather seating at Klaus K.

months and leisure travellers focusing on the warmerseasons from spring to autumn. A rather new addition tothe options for the visitor is to have a wedding in Finlandand Klaus K, with its 137 individually designed rooms, alsocaters to wedding parties. Helsinki can be a romantic cityany time of year, with spas, cosy restaurants, cruises onthe archipelago or even the possibility of combining thecity with one of its well-known neighbours – Stockholm,Tallinn or St Petersburg.

Exploring the city is easy. “We have a couple of special‘beach cruiser’ bicycles for a leisurely ride around thecity,” says Marc Skvorc. “Our guests love them becausethey’re not so typical.” Then there are the numerous boats

plying the waters, or even a horse-drawn carriage or youcan rent a bike and work those muscles, before tuckinginto Finnish nosh, such as Baltic herring washed downwith quality vodka brand Koskenkorva, and dancing thenight away with the Finns until the wee small hours.



Klaus K Hotel: www.klauskhotel.comFinnish Tourist Board: www.visitfinland.comFinland Convention Bureau: www.fcb.fiHelsinki City Tourist and Convention Bureau:www.visithelsinki.fi

The spa lounge. Top: The beautiful passion room. Below: Toscanini

Scandinavian Village

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Apartments (one bedroom): £270 - £370 per weekVillas (two bedroom): £350 - £530 per weekChristmas/New Year tariff available on request.

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“I have always been proud to work forClas Ohlson and I am proud to bring itto another country.”

Withmore than 100 stores in Scandinavia and almost justas many years in business, Clas Ohlson is no novice inthe retail business. It is, however, new to the UKmarketand ScanMagazine went to see how things were going atits new store in Croydon, London, and have a chat withits employees.

Clas Ohlson has more than 10,000 products in its storesdivided into five categories: home, hardware, multimedia,electricals and leisure products. Most competitors onlycover one or two of these categories and you wouldnormally have to go out of town to find this kind of productrange. But that is not its biggest advantage in the UK,claims store manager Ian Saville, its service culture is. Heis right because when you enter the Clas Ohlson store inCroydon’s Whitgift Centre, your first thought is how big,light and clean it is. The second is the unbelievablequantity of products it has: everything from odd littlescrews to toasters and stereos. But the third impression,and the one that stays with you after you leave, is that ofan incredibly passionate and dedicated staff.

Spreading the Clas Ohlson spirit

In all stores you expect staff to be friendly and helpful, butthat’s not always the way it is: “UK Companies regularlytalk about customer service and promote or advertisetheir policies, but in reality you’re often disappointed withthe service levels you receive,” says Saville.

Clas Ohlson, however, is rated as Sweden’s mostcustomer friendly retailer and its employees are eager tospread its famous service culture. When the 1,900 squaremetre store was about to open, five Scandinavianemployees moved over to Croydon to help out. They willbe staying for 18 months and have already made a deepimpression on Saville. “There were no managers or teamleaders among the people who came here, but everybodyhad a massive passion and commitment to the business,”he says. “For me it highlighted the quality of the team inScandinavia, and it is great that they have shown such alevel of flexibility to come over and support our expansionin the UK.”

One of the Scandinavian employees is 22-year-old SandraSalama from Sweden, who says she came to the UK tospread the Clas Ohlson spirit. “I have always been proudto work for Clas Ohlson and I am proud to bring it toanother country. We are trying to implement what we feelis the Clas Ohlson spirit. It is about great customer serviceand the fact that everybody is always friendly, and wereally want to re-create that culture over here.”

Back to the roots

The new English team also got the chance to do a littletravelling when they visited Clas Ohlson’s head office inSweden. All the full time employees spent two weeks inInsjön, where Clas Ohlson was founded in 1918. There


Clas Ohlson – Bringing a new level of customer service to the UK

By Signe Hansen | Photos: Yiannis Katsaris

Scan Business | Business Profile | Clas Ohlson

they received extensive technical training which hasproved invaluable to the success of the store, but Savillewas even more impressed by the unique Clas Ohlsonculture. “It was all about mutual respect and when I visitedInsjön, I realised that everybody at the head officebreathed that culture, whether it was the CEO or the guycleaning the floor,” he said.

The experience and environment impressed Saville, whobrought home an ice-hockey shirt from the local teamsponsored by Clas Ohlson and, of course, a woodenmoose to decorate his office. “It was an amazing place.Insjön is a really small village with a population of around2,200, but they have a very state-of-the-art head officethere,” he says. The significance of Clas Ohlson in Insjönand the rest of Sweden is maybe best demonstrated by thefact that the village has its own Clas Ohlson museum anda nearby retail park for tourists.

New opportunities for everybody

It might be a long journey for Clas Ohlson to achieve thesame kind of status in the UK, but the ambition is clearlyapparent. A new store is scheduled to open in Manches-

ter in April, and during the next year the plan is to open be-tween four to eight new stores. Another big step in theirdevelopment was the recent launch of the first UK cata-logue, which the retailer hopes will be just as popular asin Sweden, where it has become almost a collector’s item.

One of the team who is going to help the Manchester storeget up and running is 26-year-old Erica Ahvenkoski fromFinland. She has just been promoted to store supervisorand is very excited about the many possibilities her job hasbrought forward. “There are a lot of opportunities here andif it means relocating, I am happy to do that. I just want tobe a part of it all and help out,” she says.

She is just one of many happy employees. The companyhas the lowest staff turnover among retailers in Sweden.One of the reasons is that they provide a good basic salary,but they also take very good care of their employees ingeneral, says Saville: “From the volume of applications wereceived, the word is spreading that Clas Ohlson reallycare about their staff and treat people as equals and withmutual respect. We also provide free fresh fruit for themeveryday, and a communal staff room and kitchen for


Ian Saville is Store Manager of the first Clas Ohlson shop

outside Scandinavia, soon another will open in Manchester.

Erica Ahvenkosk and Sandra Salama love their job at Clas

Ohlson.

breaks, which in turn really helps them bond as a team. Itis just a small token, but it makes such a difference.”

The ethic has definitely worked for Erica, who loves her job.“I have never had a morning when I thought: ‘Oh no I haveto go to work.’ We have fun together and care for each otherand that makes it a special place to work,” she says addingwith a smile: “I know it sounds cheesy, but it is true!”

Judging from the reactions of the customers, they too arepleased with the special environment and service. Savilletells us the story of one man who came into the store foran unavailable cable and was utterly surprised when theassistant started putting it together from different piecesand spare parts. “Afterwards, the customer came back tocongratulate us and told me that he had never had servicelike that before. At first, he said, he had been so surprisedthat he didn’t even realise what the assistant was doing –that is what differentiates us from the competition.”

Turning bad times into good times

It all sounds almost too good to be true, and consideringthe fact that many retailers are having to close down just

now, some might think the timing is a bit off. Saville,however, is not one of them. “It is really an advantage to bestarting up right now as there are so many newopportunities in terms of locations and staff. Many retailspaces are empty and if you can make somethingsuccessful of them, it is a good thing for everybody,” hesays.

Clas Ohlson has also recruited employees from some ofthe closed down retailers. “One of our new teammembersin Manchester was recently made redundant fromWoolworths, and another has come from an ex-Ilva store.It really is a shame for all those affected but it’s also greatthat we can bring on board some of these exceptionalpeople.”

It all leaves little doubt that Clas Ohlson brings good newsfor both UK retail staff and customers, but what aboutsales, will the UK bring good news for Clas Ohlson? Thefuture will show, but judging by the amount of will-powerit took for this reporter to leave the store without buyingeverything in sight, that too seems likely.


Scan Business | Business Profile | Clas Ohlson

Clas Ohlson has more than 10,000 different products in its stores.


Generations of British breakfasts have contained Danishbacon, and the industry is adapting to keep up withconsumer demands for quality assurance and innovationthat lowers environmental impact

Ahh! The sizzle and smell of frying bacon is somethingthat we all recognise and many of us relish. It is anintegral part of the traditional British breakfast and formany of us in the UK, bacon does mean Danish.

In fact, Danish bacon has been imported into the UK forover 150 years and over the decades has become a majorpart of the British diet. In 2008 over 300,000 tonnes ofDanish pigmeat were sent across the North Sea andconsumed in the UK, mostly in the form of bacon. Indeed,such is our love of the cured pork product, and not just atbreakfast time, that we get through over 8kg a head ofbacon each year.

But it’s more than that. UK consumers don’t just love theirbacon, they also want to be confident about where it’scome from and that the right environmental and animal

welfare boxes have been ticked. John Howard is marketingdirector for the Danish Bacon and Meat Council. He’sconfident that the Brits are happy for their bacon to comefrom Danish pigs because “it’s a consistently high qualityproduct that consumers can trust”.

This trust may have taken a knock in the past fewmonths.The Danish industry has been hit by allegations in the UKthat animal welfare standards are not as high as theycould be (see page 46). Certainly, in an evolving industrythere are some practices, such as the use of certain typesof stalls for pregnant sows, which need to be phased outquickly. The industry says it has accepted this and thesepractices are on the way out fast. John Howard says:“What we are keen to point out to UK consumers is thatDanish bacon is produced to high standards that in manyrespects far exceed what EU or UK legislation requires.”

Howard highlights the fact that Danish pig rearingfacilities built since 2001 must have water showers ormisting systems to help the pigs cool themselves duringhot weather, something that is not required in the UK.


Danish bacon

PINK PIGS AND GREEN ENERGYBy Ian Welsh

Scan Business | Business Profile | Danish Bacon

Another area is the use of antibiotic growth promoters,which have been widespread in global meat production.The Danish pig industry agreed to eliminate their use in2000, with the EU following suit in 2006.

The co-op concept

All stages of the Danish industry’s production chain arecritical to delivering a quality product, from farm to butty,and the highest standards are maintained and coordinatedthroughout the chain. With decades of experiencedeveloping a domestic and export industry, Denmark’sfarmers have established a remarkable system of co-operatively owned facilities for processing and preparingthe meat. The fact that the pig producers themselves ownthe factories means that the production chain can be fullyintegrated and that quality and consistency of product canbe maintained throughout.

The importance of the UK for Danish pig farmers – over20% of the export market – has been recognised and sincethe late 1990s there has been a specific set of guidelinesfor farmers producing pigs destined for export to British

markets, known as the Contract for UK Production. Theseguidelines were established to ensure that the meatcomplied with all UK legislation. Much of this was alreadyenshrined in the strict Danish rules and regulations, butspecifically the guidelines cover areas includingtraceability, herd health and hygiene standards, housingand equipment, and feed and water provision.

There are twomain Danish co-operatives producing baconand pork meat for the UK market: Danish Crown andTiCan. Danish Crown sells unprocessed pork into the UKmarket and also operates via a UK-based subsidiary, Tulip.With 18 production sites in the UK, Tulip has a significantstake in the British domestic pig industry, and owns anumber of well-known brands including themarket leaderDanepak, which has current retail sales worth £43m.

TiCan is a smaller player, operating through UKsubsidiaries Direct Table Foods and ProPak. As TiCan’svice-chairman Bob Hitchin says, the Danish industry has“earned its position through flexibility and first classcustomer service.” Rob Nugent, technical director of



Direct Table Foods says that “sustained investment inresearch and development” combined with “knowledgeand expertise have made Denmark an industry leader inpig farming and the production of pork and bacon.”

Reflecting the pride that the Danish industry feels in thehistory of the relationship with the UK, Hitchin points outthat they are ready to meet the future needs of Britishconsumers. “Danish producers will meet the require-ments of a market that will increasingly demand a moreresponsible approach to the environment from all its foodsuppliers.”

This is an area where the Danish industry has really takena lead. Historically, tough regulations have controlledpollution levels and other waste products from theindustry. Now the focus is on using the waste and by-products of the industry for positive benefits.

Clean energy

Denmark is leading the agricultural industry in developingbiogas plants that convert animal waste products intoenergy. The dry matter in animal manure containssignificant amounts of carbon. The biogas processtransforms this and other organic waste from industry,sewage treatment plants and private households into acompound of methane and carbon dioxide that can beused as fuel, while retaining useful nutrients in a residuethat can be used as fertiliser.

John Howard says: “Biogas technology does mean thatthe livestock industry has an opportunity to benefitnational carbon footprints.” The gas produced by thebiogas process can be used by the farmer or a local co-operative plant to generate heat and power, or to be soldand piped to a utility company for use at larger powerstations. Currently there are 60 farm-scale biogas plantsin Denmark, exploiting farmyard animal waste, otherorganic matter or biomass, and in some circumstances



Sustained investment in R&D has made Denmark a market

leader in pork and bacon production

energy crops. Future expansion will more likely be inlarger more centralised plants, typically run by farmer co-operatives, taking in waste materials from up to 200farmers.

It really is a classic win-win situation. Carbon emissionsare reduced as the biogas substitutes for fossil fuels thatwould otherwise be used in heat and power production.The gas itself is created from a waste product, and theprocess of its extraction provides organic fertiliser that canbe put straight back onto the fields. Even better, the de-gassed fertiliser smells significantly better than theuntreated slurry traditionally spread on fields

Bruno Sander Nielsen from the Danish BiogasAssociation highlights the potential that biogas productionhas for making a significant contribution to Danish energysupply. “Up to 25% of current natural gas use could besupplied from biogas produced from livestockmanure andother organic waste material,” Nielsen says. During the

late 1980s and the 1990s there was a period of growth inthe biogas sector, but the fluctuating economics of otherenergy sources and a drawback in the political willingnessto promote renewable energy have meant littledevelopment since around 2000. Recently, though, theDanish government has stated a desire to triple theamount of biogas production in the next five to ten years.This move has been backed up by a series of changes inpricing structures to make investing in biogas productionmore attractive.

Nielsen points out, however, that Denmark’s new minidash for biogas has not come at a good time for investors.“The lack of available finance has become the mainobstacle to the sector’s growth,” he says. However, whilebiogas currently provides only 0.5% of Denmark’s energyneeds, in the right economic circumstances the potentialfor growth is significant. Preferential tax rates on energyfrom biogas make it an even more attractive proposition.Another energy-related by-product of the pig industry is



Danish farmers lead the way in minimising environmental impact

the creation of biodiesel. While this perhaps does not havethe potential impact of biogas, it still can make asignificant dent in emissions and provide a useful fuelsource that doesn’t require arable farming land beingturned over to energy crops. In essence, biodiesel can becreated from the waste animal fats andmaterials left overat slaughterhouses. According to Danish alternative fuelsproducer Daka Biodiesel, in purely price terms biodieselfrom animal waste competes favourably with vegetablebiodiesel, and it also lowers emissions and improvesengine lubrication.

Clever use of products and materials that previously werethrown away or treated as waste perhaps harks back toearlier, harder times when nothing was wasted.Particularly in an uncertain economic climate, consumersdo see the basic common sense in this approach, whichultimately benefits everyone, and just as importantlymeans that popular foods such as bacon, and other meatproducts, continue to be made available at a reasonable

financial and environmental cost. And this is good news ifit helps keep bacon in the good old British breakfast.



Danish pork and bacon have been enjoyed in the UK for over 150 years

One of Danepak’s top-selling Perfect Pork range

Like many parts of the agriculture industry, the past fewyears have been tough times for pig farmers in the UKand Denmark. Consumers in the UK have becomeincreasingly aware of some differences in farmingtechniques and practices through press reports and notleast a recent Channel 4 television programme hosted bychef and entrepreneur Jamie Oliver, which promoted theUK pig meat industry.

Jamie Saves Our Bacon highlighted a small number ofareas where the Danish industry differed from the UK interms of animal welfare, specifically the use of stalls forsows during pregnancy and the practice of castratingmale piglets to remove the so-called “boar taint” flavourfrom the meat of fully-grown animals.

According to the Danish Bacon and Meat Council, theDanish pig industry is in a phase of transition between useof sow stalls and open, loose sow housing. It has been ac-cepted by the industry that sow stalls are not an accept-able long-term solution, and less than 25% of pregnantsows are now kept in traditional stalls in Denmark. Thereis a deadline of January 2013 imposed by the EU at whichpoint sow stalls will be banned, and the DBMC is confident

that the vast majority of Danish producers will have ceasedusing them well in advance of this.

Regarding the castration issue, extensive research hasshown that castrating male piglets significantly reducesthe incidence of “boar taint”, an unpleasant smell that canarise when cooking pork from male pigs. The taint issomething that is regarded as unacceptable in many non-UK export markets, especially in Germany and south eastAsia. The castration is usually carried out in the first weekof the piglet’s life, and while it inevitably causes sometemporary discomfort, it can be carried out quickly andsafely by a trained stockman.

However, recognising the animal welfare issues thispractice raises, new Danish regulations will require painrelief for castration from January 2010 at the latest.Moreover, the industry in Denmark has committed tophasing out castration altogether and devise alternativestrategies to counter the taint. This will be welcomed byfarmers as it will have the added benefit of increasing thelean meat yield and growth rate for each pig as castratedanimals typically grow more slowly and with moreunnecessary fat content.



Danish bacon

THE JAMIE OLIVER EFFECTBy Ian Welsh



Danish bacon’s Contract for UK Production

In Autumn 1998, the Contract for UK Production wasintroduced which, in addition to meeting all therequirements of Danish legislation and industryagreements, stipulated that the production of thesepigs must meet the special requirements of UKlegislation.

In particular, the UK Contract stipulates that there maybe no confinement of sows throughout the period ofpregnancy, and this requirement became embodied inUK legislation from January 1999.

The Product Standard for UK Contract producers laysdown a number of other requirements to which they

must conform. Regarding feedstuffs, the use of animalfats, meat and bone meal is not permitted.

The UK Contract is in compliance with the EN45011standard and all UK Contract producers are subject toan annual audit carried out by an accreditedcertification body.

A premium is paid by the Danish co-operativeslaughterhouses for all pigs produced under the UKContract.

Source: Danish Bacon and Meat Council

Top: Pigs are reared under a special ‘Contract for UK Production’ that ensures compliance with all the nuances of UK legislation.

Below: Danish farmers like Michael Moeller produce pigs to the requirements of strict Danish legislation.

Right: Farmer Michael Moeller on his pig farm.

Doing business abroad is much more than flying out,staying in posh hotels and eating different food. It’sentering into a different world where everyday businessevents have different rules. To be a successful interna-tional business executive you need to know what theserules are, and how and when to adapt your style.

Any country’s business behaviour reflects its societalvalues. The Chinese proverb “Ru xiang sui su” (Entervillage, follow customs) advises us to manifest these. Buthow are we to know what they are? How is an internationalmanager to know how to behave in Beijing or Beirut? InTrondheim or Toledo? Fortunately, we don’t have to learn101 different rules for 101 different counties. There areframeworks to guide us.

In negotiating, we can discern differences in negotiatingstyles to understand our foreign counterparts throughasking: are they• Deal or Relationship focused?• Informal (egalitarian) or formal (hierarchical)?• Rigid-time followers (monochromic) or fluid

(polychromic)?• Emotionally expressive or emotionally reserved?• Direct speakers or indirect evasive communicators?

These few indicators give us many permutations to placecultures along a sliding scale between extremes.• British negotiators are deal-focused, moderately for-

mal, monochromic, reserved and moderately indirect;• Finns are deal-focused, moderately informal,

monochromic, reserved and direct;• Egyptians are relationship-focused, formal,

polychromic, expressive and indirect;• Indonesians are relationship-focused, formal,

polychromic, reserved and very indirect.

Knowledge allows us to modify our expectations and setrealistic objectives for meetings – we are not going to signa deal in one session (deal-focused) if our Singaporean

counterpart wants to know and trust us first (relationship-focused).

Nordic business cultures share a deal-focused, informal,monochromic, reserved and direct approach. However,there are nuances between the degrees of difference.Danes are closer to the deal-focus extreme. Swedes areregarded as the most formal and hierarchical in manage-ment styles and Danes the least. Finns and Norwegianscharacterise Danes as ‘the Italians of the North’ becausethey aremore touchy feely and noisier (expressive). Swedessee Danes as ‘more forward/assertive’ and Finns as ‘moremodest’. Finns see themselves as the most reserved (theyare themost reserved of all European cultures). Danes andFinns (very direct) have to ‘soften’ or ‘sugar coat’ commu-nication to avoid offending Swedes who are a smidgenless direct.

The transaction costs in international trade are high,which means that anything that prevents success can costthousands. Organisations cannot afford to get thingswrong. Put cultural communication on your learning list.After all, there are just subtle differences between theNordics, but a world of difference between the rest of us!


Scan Business | Column | Communication

“Ru xiang sui su” or when in Rome…By Dr Deborah Swallow

Dr Deborah Swallow is an expert in interculturalcommunication and can be emailed [email protected]


If you are thinking of setting up a business to be your ownboss, you need to know what your options are and whattax rules are immediately relevant.

The simplest form of carrying on business is through self-employment as a sole trader. This is an unincorporatedbusiness which is not a separate legal entity from thetrader. It is very simple to start a business in this way, butthe main downside is that if the business goes under thereis no protection for the trader. A sole trader needs toregister with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) within threemonths from the start of the business, and failure toregister on time will result in a late notification penalty.

The sole trader will pay income tax at the normal rates onthe profits of the business as they arise. If qualifyinglosses are made, there are provisions to relieve theseagainst other income or against future profits of the sametrade. Losses in the opening years can be carried back forrelief against, for example, previous employment incomeresulting in a tax refund.

The sole trader must submit basic accounts informationand tax returns to HMRC but unlike limited companies, theaccounts are not made public. The accounts must be pre-pared in accordance with proper accounting principles.Not all business-related expenditure is allowable for taxpurposes, and the appropriate tax adjustments must bemade. The trader can make up the accounts to any date ofhis or her choice, but unless the accounts are drawn up to5 April annually it will be necessary to match the ac-counting period to the tax year using special basis periodrules. These often have the result that overlap profits arecreated, where income of the opening period is taxedmorethan once, and relieved later either on a change of ac-counting date or on cessation of trade. These rules meanthat most sole traders will benefit from the assistance ofa tax accountant or tax adviser to prepare the return andcomputations. However, it is much better to be aninformed customer, and it is possible to gain a lot of free

information on HMRC’s website at www.hmrc.gov.uk/selfemployed. Please note however, that the informationprovided there represents HMRC’s view and practice, andmay not be the full story or the only solution.

Traders will also need to consider if they are required to orshould register for VAT. If they take on an employee theywill also need to consider the consequences of being anemployer, such as operating PAYE and otherresponsibilities under employment legislation. There mayalso be various tax and other consequences if thebusiness is operated from their home, including forexample the need to obtain consent from the mortgagecompany or landlord. They should also consider othercommercial matters such as having appropriate contractsin place with customers and suppliers.

It is important to note that the tax rules do not allow some-one to be taxed as self-employed, if the relationship withtheir client or customer is such that they are working onterms that aremore similar to an employment relationship.Customers may be reluctant to pay a freelance workergross without deducting tax first, as HMRCmay challengethe employment status of the worker and demand paymentof PAYE tax and National Insurance Contributions. Thecustomer may therefore prefer to hire freelance workerswho are supplying their services through a limited com-pany. I will look at that subject in a later article.

[email protected] www.gmrlaw.com

Thinking of working for yourself?By Tax Columnist Helena Whitmore | Photo: Yiannis Katsaris

Scan Business | International Services | Tax

Danish-born Henrik Andersen has recently beenappointed as the new CEO for ISS UK, one of the largestfacility service providers in the UK. In an interview withScan Magazine he revealed his thoughts on his new roleand the current economic crisis.

A self-confessed born optimist, Henrik Andersen, is facingthe recession with the assured belief that ISS will comeout of it much stronger.

After almost four years as Chief Financial Officer, 41-year-old Andersen was promoted to Chief Executive Officer inJanuary 2009. But for the new CEO, the responsibility for42,500 employees in the middle of an economic downturnis not something to get downbeat about. “Everything isvery negative in the papers and television, but, as I keepsaying to both employees and managers, it is just soimportant that in the current environment you keep

focused on the positive things,” he says, adding: “Thereare plenty of things that can be improved upon anddelivered in a smarter, more efficient way and probablywith enhanced quality.”

Andersen therefore believes that ISS will continue growingas it has done up to now. In 2005 the company had aturnover of around 550 million pounds; by the last annualreview this had increased to 800 million pounds.

Although the UK branch, in terms of turnover and numberof employees is larger than the Danish ISS, it’s not as wellknown, says Andersen, despite the fact that ISS isliterately present everywhere. As a facility servicecompany with national coverage, ISS can supplyeverything from security and catering to landscaping,cleaning and office support, as well as full facilitiesmanagement. “We are very broad in our approach to


ISS - brushing away the gloomBy Signe Hansen | Photos: ISS

Top left: Henrik Andersen has just become CEO of ISS, where he has worked since 1999. Below: London Underground is one of

the many places where ISS services can be seen. Right: ISS is well known for security services.

customers. We operate in all kinds of sectors: financial,legal, IT and telecoms to name just a few, and we have alarge presence in the public sector as well.” Some of theareas where ISS services can be seen include the LondonUnderground, where they are responsible for cleaning thetube lines, and in over 300 NHS hospitals, where theyprovide everything from catering and cleaning to securityand car parking services. They are a leading providerwithin the PFI market too.

The success of the company has, however, not ledAndersen to take his responsibilities lightly. “Becoming aCEO and responsible for the team and business is quite achange for me but for the employees too. They look at meand worry that things will change,” he says. “Therefore Ithink the most exciting aspect of my new job is that I havethe opportunity to continue the strong development wehave had in past years. I want to continue that success andsupport employees and managers to succeed.”

Mutual support is very important to Andersen, who saysthat he has himself had fantastic mentors, who helpedhim reach his current position in ISS. His hope is now thathe can help his own people reach their and the company’sgoals in the same way. “My own project for 2009 is to get

the management team up and running, with myselfleading from the front. It is essential, especially in thecurrent environment, that the team is confident andfocused on winning rather than being uncertain about itsown positions,” he says. “If you empower people andmanagers you will excel, I believe that goes for anybusiness.”

With regard to his own position Andersen is confident thatthe people who supported him will keep on doing so. Thejob does however, admits Andersen, come with somesacrifices like spending less time with the family. But eventhat and the changes Andersen, his wife and twodaughters faced when moving to the UK can, he says, beovercome with a positive attitude. “When you have kids, itis of course a bit of a rollercoaster moving to a new place.The first six months were a challenge, but as in manythings in life if you have a positive attitude, it will workout,” he says. “When we moved here, we promised to giveit a year and I think that year was definitely enough.”

Professionally Andersen has not set a specific timeframefor his next goal, but he does reveal that he will not besurprised if ISS reaches a billion pound turnover in thenear future.


Scan Business | Business Profile | ISS

ISS can supply everything from catering to landscaping, cleaning and office support.


Scan Business | International Services | Law

Knowing the nooks and crannies of the legal system ofone country may be difficult enough, but if you, or yourcompany, operate in more than one country it may bealmost impossible. Employment contracts, bankruptcy,and licensing are just some of the proceedings which arecarried out in very different ways in the Scandinaviancountries and the UK.

There is hope, however, because many law firms locatedin both the UK and Scandinavia can help you sort out thelegal confusions likely to occur in cross-borderoperations.

Scan Magazine talked to six different law firms to find outwhat, how and who they can help. The result showed thatwhether you want English or Scandinavian lawyers, smallor large firms, specialised or general advice, there areplenty of possibilities out there.

Many English companies employ Scandinavian lawyers andsome are even founded by Scandinavians. But there are alsosome big Scandinavian law firmswith branches or partnersin the UK. Lastly, there are some firms that will not help youdirectly with legal matters but specialise in finding the rightassistance for you. The following pages present a selectionof the different possibilities and their benefits.

Following the letter of the law By Signe Hansen

Bevan KidwellLong and loyal relationships with theirclients, cost effectiveness and a wide va-riety of clients are some of the featuresthat make Bevan Kidwell stand outamong other law firms. Founded in 1996,the company specialises in commerciallaw, assisting businesses with the ac-quisition and disposal of companies,joint venture agreements, property

transactions, liquor licensing, all aspectsof employment law and much more.

Several of the firm’s clients havebeen with the company from the begin-ning and so has some of its staff. Someof Bevan Kidwell’s staff is multilingual.Amongst the languages spoken at Be-van Kidwell are Danish, Norwegian,Swedish, Italian, German, Russian andUkrainian. Bevan Kidwell is a memberof the Danish, the Swedish, and the Ital-ian Chambers of Commerce.

One of Bevan Kidwell’s internationalprofiles is Claus Andersen, who is quali-fied in both Denmark and England. Weasked him what makes Bevan Kidwell agood choicewhen looking for legal advice.

Whatmakes you stand out compared toother law firms?

Being a smaller law firm means thatwe are able to offer a more personalservice. Clients speak to the lawyerswho actually deal with their matters,making our service efficient and costeffective. Our first and foremost task isto get the job done andmeet our client’sbusiness goals. Crucial to this is under-standing our clients’ business and aims,both in the short and long term. Al-though we concentrate on current

needs, we will always have an eye onpossible future developments.

What kinds of businesses and peopleare your main clients?We provide legal advice to all types ofcompanies from start ups to quotedplcs. Our client base is drawn from allsectors including financial services, theleisure sector, the pharmaceutical andmedical industry, property developersand IT companies.

Useful information

Areas of expertise:Company Commercial, LiquorLicensing, Commercial Property,Commercial Litigation, ResidentialConveyancing, Employment,Insolvency, and IntellectualProperty

Location:113-117 Farringdon Road,London, EC1R 3BX

Contact:Phone: 020 7843 1820Email: [email protected]

www.bevankidwell.com


Grundberg MocattaRakison LLPIf you or your business operates withindifferent jurisdictions, Grundberg Mo-catta Rakison LLP (GMR) may be theplace to go for advice. GMR aims to bethe pre-eminent cross-border Englishlaw firm and 80% of its practice has across-border element. The internationalaspect is prevalent everywhere in thefirm, with lawyers qualified in 12 juris-dictions; their 36 lawyers speak 24 lan-guages and have connections in 120cities spread across 50 countries.

Despite its international characteris-tics, the firm is essentially an English lawfirm dealing with a wide range of prob-lems. Many are caused by the currenteconomy, such as redundancy and otheremployment claims or insolvency.

The Senior Partner is Anders Grund-berg, former Chairman of the SwedishChamber of Commerce, who started thefirm in 1978 as one of the first Swedes topractice as an English solicitor. We had

a talk with his brother Bengt Grundberg,Marketing Manager at GMR, to find outwhat makes GMR a good choice whenlooking for legal advice.


GMR is one of London’s most cosmo-politan English law firms. We have animpressive worldwide reach, benefitingnot only private individuals, but alsotheir companies. We distinguish our-selves by offering a partner-led servicewith established international relation-ships. We speak all the Scandinavianlanguages and are qualified in all theirjurisdictions.

Sowhat kinds of clients come to you foradvice and why?

They mostly have some kind of interna-tional connection, and scale of busi-nesses varies between the different in-dividuals and practise areas. From thecorporate and commercial side they areall the way from small and medium

sized business to really major corpora-tions. On the private client side they tendto be private individuals or entrepre-neurs owning medium-sized to largecorporations.

Corren TroenIf you are looking for a single law firm thatcan take care of all your legal matters -private or commercial - Corren Troenmaybe the answer. Corren Troen’s 22 em-ployees can assist with everything frommarriage contracts to commercial con-tracts. Besides, they have a special serv-ice for companies affected by the creditcrisis: their credit crunch package. Thiscomprises help with all problems a busi-ness may suffer during a credit crisis.

Corren Troen was founded by DanishAdvokat and Solicitor Per Troen andPaul Corren in 2002.

We had a talk with Troen, who is also theChairman of the Danish UK Chamber ofCommerce, the Chairman of the RoyalDanish Guards Association, on the de-velopment board of St.Catherine’s Col-lege at Oxford University and on the boardof the listed company Latchways PLC, tofind out whatmakes Corren Troen a goodchoice when looking for legal advice.


Firstly, we have been in the country for 25years practising law so we feel that wecan offer the advice our clients need.

Secondly, we cover all things that oneneeds to have dealt with when you are aperson resident in England or are involvedin business in England. We take care ofpeople privately, their family and theirbusiness – whether it is their own com-pany or their employer. The third thing isthat we are only here to listen to what theclient wants to do and then do it as quicklyand commercially as possible.

What kinds of businesses or people areyour main clients?It is very important to understand howlegislation between our countries inter-acts when carrying out our work. As aconsequence we have especially strongclient relationships in Denmark and theNordic regions as well as the US.

Useful informationAreas of expertise: Corporate andCommercial, Finance and Banking,Technology and Communication,Expatriation and Secondment,Private Client, Litigation, Nordic andInternational, Residential Property,Commercial Property.

Location: 35 Catherine Place,London SW1E 6DY

Contact:0207 592 8900, [email protected]

0207 592 8931, [email protected]

www.correntroen.com

Useful informationAreas of expertise: Corpo-rate & Commercial, Litigation, In-solvency, Employment, Tax, Prop-erty, Private Client and Familymatters.

Location: Imperial House, 15-19Kingsway, London, WC2B 6UN

Phone: 020 7632 1600Email: [email protected]

www.gmrlaw.com




ThommessenAs Thommessen is ranked first in theElite category among Norwegian lawfirms, it is an obvious choice when look-ing for legal assistance. The aim of thecompany is to offer services within allbusiness law areas and at the sametime ensure in-depth knowledge withineach of the specialised fields.

Thommessenhasmore than 150 yearson its back inNorway, where it has around250 employees in theOslo andBergen of-fices. But the firm also has a small officein London and thus has something extrato offer international businesses.

The London office has existed for 25years and was established to help outNorwegian companies that movedabroad. As times have changed, the fo-cus of the London office has widenedand now to a large extent involves help-ing international clients doing businessin Norway.

Thommessen has three Norwegianlawyers in London: one of them is JonKristian Sjåtil, who has been head ofThommessen’s London office since2006. We asked him who and howThommessen can help.


Thommessen is one of the biggest andmost highly respected law firms in Nor-way and we offer a full range of serviceswithin business law. We also stand outby having a London office. We are one ofonly two Norwegian law firms that havean office in the UK.

Sowhat kinds of clients come to you foradvice and why?

Our expertise is Norwegian law, and themain bulk of our work relates to inter-national companies, banks and otherclients doing business in Norway. Theother part of our business is to assist

Norwegian companies that are estab-lishing themselves or operate in the UK.

Goodwille LimitedAn extensive business network, multi-lingual, international employees anddepth of experience are just some of thefeatures which make the service con-sultancy Goodwille Limited a good solu-tion if you need help to make themost ofyour business in the UK.

Focused on Nordic companies,Goodwille was founded in 1997 by Chair-man Annika Åman-Goodwille. She saw aserious gap between the servicesneeded by overseas companies andthose available locally. Typically thecompanies would go to separate legal,accounting, HR and other specialistfirms, which was both costly and time

consuming. Consequently Goodwillecreated Goodwille Limited to take care ofthese areas in an independent, consis-tent and cost-effective way. The rapidgrowth of Goodwille is today testimonyto the success of her idea.

As well as HR functions, legal and fi-nancial administration, the company of-fers serviced offices andmeeting facilities.The company also has a network of 5,000organisations providing advisors and con-sultants with skills and experience inmany fields from recruitment to sales.

All on the Goodwille team have in-ternational backgrounds and betweenthem they speak more than 10 lan-guages. Most employees are of coursefrom Scandinavia. Daniel Parry, theSwedish Managing Director, who hasworked for the company for four years,explains why getting Goodwille involvedin your business may be a good idea.

Why Goodwille for support and advicein UK markets?

Our strength is that we can resolve theproblems and sort out the legal issues

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As one of the oldest law firms in Denmark dating back to1869, one might expect LETT to be a company ruled byold men and conservative views. This is far from thetruth. In one sense LETT can actually classify itself asone of the youngest law firms in Denmark as well, andthis ambiguity defines the business very well.

Marketing and Communications Manager at LETT MichaelValentin says that the special structure of the law firm isa bit like that of a good football team: “Inside the firm wehave young employees and partners and in that way weare a very young firm. But when you are a young, talentedand ambitious lawyer, it is good to have some traditions tolean on. It is a bit like when you have a young footballerplaying for a club like Liverpool. The players are young andtalented, but the importance of the pride and honour ofplaying for the club is tremendous.”

Valentin is one of 350 employees at LETT, which, with itsoffices in Copenhagen, Aarhus and Kolding, is one of the

leading law firms in Denmark. But LETT does not onlyoperate within the Danish borders. Many of its 165 lawyershave worked or studied abroad and a rising number ofcross-border assignments put their skills to use. “Thecross-border business has developed in the last 10-20years because globalisation has changed the way thingsare done. When international companies operate, it is notjust a national matter anymore. You have to be able tounderstand the different countries’ legal systems.”

LETT is expert in both Danish and international law, andis often contacted by foreign law firms and clients whoare in need of LETT’s expertise and capabilities. “Whenoperating as an international law firm, it is important tohave a good reputation and good clients to demonstrateresults. In that way you get ranked in an internationalranking system where law firms that have specialqualities are highlighted,” Valentin explains. “This rankingsystemmeans that when an American law firm is lookingfor a partner in Denmark, it will be able to view the

LETT – Making innovation and tradition go hand in hand

ranking of LETT based on its credentials and areas ofexpertise.”

LETT covers all areas of commercial law such as bankingand finance law, EU and competition law and taxes. This,in addition to the scope and scale of its practice, meansthat LETT has a wide variety of clients as well. “We takecare of everything within business law and consequentlywe also have all kinds of clients from all kinds of differentsectors. For instance we work with quite large privatecompanies and organisations but also with clients fromthe public sector. With regard to size, our clients includeeverything from newly started companies to some of thelargest companies in Denmark.”

In 2005 one of LETT’s goals was to become one of the topfive law firms in Denmark. That goal was reached last yearand new goals are now under development. But there isone more thing that LETT has achieved and that is to unitethe ambiguity of new and old, tradition and innovation,thereby turning a potential source of conflict into a strength.

Web: www.lett.dk Phone: +45 33 34 00Michael Valentin

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The uplifting prose of my last column does not appear tohave revived the global economy but perhaps the declineis less steep than it has been.

Thinking that I was going to benefit from a cheerful event I setoff full of anticipation for a Finnish-British Chamber of Com-merce pancake lunch recently. It is of course well known that ittakes a pancake or two to make a Finn cheerful. However thetimes we live in made it impossible for me and a number of oth-ers to enjoy a leisurely lunch and we had to leave before the pan-cakes appeared. You may have noticed that London has been fullof morose Finns recently. You now have the explanation. Pancakedeficiency.

For Head-hunters the explanation is more likely to be client de-ficiency. My firm is fortunate in that we have a wide range ofclients from several sectors which are well spread geographi-cally.

This leads me to offer a suggestion to anyone considering en-gaging a Head-hunter. It is always prudent to enquire about anyrestrictions they may be obliged to place on the proposed search.Restrictions can arise in a number of ways. For example a Searchfirm will not generally search for candidates within an organisa-tion that has been a client for a period of at least a year after anassignment for that client. The reason is that in undertaking aSearch, a Search firm is in a privileged position with regard to in-formation about the client and it would be a breach of trust tothen use that information to target a person within that client aspart of a Search for another client.

It is a widely held belief that you should engage a Head-hunterspecialising in the area you wish to recruit in, but from the aboveyou will see that this could be a mistake.

Another factor influencing the selection of a Head-hunter is thestrength of the Brand. “No one got fired for choosing IBM” is howmanagement folk lore describes the importance of Brand in thedecision process. However “strong Brand” generally equateswith “many clients”. Remember what I said about restrictions?The more perceptive amongst you will by now have realised thatI write from a Search firm that does not have these problems!

Enough of restrictions! On to someone for whom the outerreaches of the planet are no restriction. My networking activitiesbrought me in touch with Per Wimmer recently, whose appetitefor space travel knows no limit. He seems to have an Oyster Cardfor Space, having booked flights on all the Space Tourist flightscurrently planned. At my suggestion we met for a drink at the

Royal Institution, 21 Albemarle Street W1 which is one of those“hidden gems” of which London has so many. “Hidden” may notbe the correct description, as it has a very prominent classicalcolumn façade, but these hide a world-class scientific researchestablishment founded in the 18th century. It has been “home”to 14 Nobel Prize winners and 10 chemical elements were dis-covered there.

The interior has been transformed recently to incorporate restau-rants and a bar, open to all. There is added value in that you canalso visit the laboratory where Faraday discovered electromag-netism hence enabling the development of the electric motor. Irecommend a visit. The venue was appropriate for my chat withPer as we spoke about adding scientific experiments to Per’sspace tourist activities. As a result I will be introducing Per toProf. Steven Schwartz, Head of Space and Atmospheric Physicsat Imperial College. Per may become not only the first Danishspace tourist, but also make an important scientific contribution.We all know that a few glasses of wine lead to unexpected out-comes – but seldom as bizarre as this!

Faraday worked at the Royal Institution with a chap called Davy,who invented the miner’s safety lamp, used to detect toxic or ex-plosive gases underground. Prior to that miners carried ca-naries in cages down the mine and when they fell over the min-ers knew it was time to get out. The mine had become a toxicasset. Perhaps if the bankers of the world had carried canariesaround with them banks might have amassed fewer toxic assets.Any detection system would have been better than that whichthey employed. Did I hear someone say: “Carry bankers aroundin a cage and see when they fall over”? Shame on you! TweetTweet!

Malcolm


Scan Business | Recruitment | Campbell’s Column

Campbell’s ColumnBy Malcolm Campbell | Photo: Magnus Arrevad


Scan Business | Business Directory

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Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate for the role must be fluent tobusiness level in both Swedish and Danish, possess

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Circa £24K + commission + benefits

Please only apply if you have the relevant experienceand full business fluency in Swedish AND Danish.Thanks.

To apply please email your CV toJuliette at [email protected]


Scan Business | Column | How was your day?

Martin Falch: Partner at Nexec Partners and the EuropeanLeadership Programme. President of the Norwegian-British Chamber of Commerce

After more than 10 years in this city it still feels likecoming to a new, exotic place every morning. Certainly theshort tube ride is exotic enough with people of all sizes,looks, cultures, more crammed together than would betolerated back in Scandinavia. I come in from WimbledonPark with a brisk walk followed by a swift train and tuberide to Green Park where I stroll through Bond Street,Burlington Gardens, Savile Row etc., leaving theirextravagant temptations until I reach our offices in themiddle of Regent’s Street.

From 5th floor offices overlooking most of London, I spendmost of my life finding talented executives all over theworld. Nexec Partners is a leading executive search firmand has for the past 10 years been helping companiesgrow beyond their home market. Whether it is a UStechnology company entering Europe or a Scandinaviancompany wanting global presence, we will help buildboards and management teams. Many of my clients arecompanies from Scandinavia and they often need helpwith finding great people. Typically, I am asked to makeintroductions to Venture Capital and Private Equitycompanies of potential first reference clients beforeestablishing business in the UK, or other service providersthat can help in their quest for global market leadership.After several head-hunting campaigns, we recognised aneed to support CEOs of growth companies in Europe, so2 years ago we founded a new company called theEuropean Leadership Programme (ELP). This has growninto a community network of over 200 talented CEOsacross Europe. In a trusted environment at quarterlyworkshops, leaders are trained to raise their game asCEOs, and we also run networking and industry eventswhere the members have a unique opportunity to canvasunbiased views from other experienced leaders.

So to find our candidates and populate the ELP network Ineed to speak to lots of people. In fact I meet 5–10 peoplea day, in addition to numerous telephone calls and toomuch time spent on my Blackberry. Whether it’sinterviews, client meetings or lunches with our investorfriends in Mayfair, I get to meet some of the brightest andmost interesting people in London.

When the evening comes I start my other job. In Januarythis year I took over as President of the Norwegian-BritishChamber of Commerce (NBCC), so daily I attend tomatters to ensure we continue to serve our members.Located in Charles House in Lower Regent Street, it iswith NBCC I have spent my “spare” time for the past 8years. The NBCC aim is to build business connectionsbetween members across all industries. With over 700members and multinational corporations and start-upscounting amongst our company members, we facilitatebusiness networking opportunities through events andseminars. We often arrange joint events with the otherScandinavian Chambers, creating an evening of valuablenetworking in a typical Scandinavian atmosphere.

So 2–3 evenings a week I will be presenting the NBCC atsome event. It is tempting to go home to food and a goodrest, but how could one possibly say no to meeting somany great Scandinavians over a drink?

How was your day?These are our busy lives! We ask a Scandinavian busi-nessman or business woman the question: How was yourday? The answer is never that straightforward.


What is the responsibility of the boardof directors? How do they show it?What tentacles do they use to con-nect to the big picture of reality?

Think of it, it isn’t an easy task to pursue.Today, the signals they are sending to thepublic are confusion and “do not blame us”for that which is falling apart around us!

Take one step back and look at what hashappened during the last decade: globalderegulation of the financial and com-mercial market. At the same time, yousee in full swing a complete dismantlingof the control systems underpinning aglobal financial Tsunami.

Sailing blindfolded, drunk on the globali-sation tonic, misled by shareholder greed,and unable to see the ethical icebergs –these are the conditions they have to act in.

The responsibilities of a board are firstlytowards the stakeholders and secondly to

behave as a prototype for corporate cul-ture. The present shareholder focus isbased on the idea that bonuses for seniormanagement create wealth for the share-holders. The doctrine of unlimited growthmight also be a factor to consider in thisdrama!

What can be done to rebuild trust and re-gain a stakeholder focus? I believe thefirst step is to look at facts: it is as it is!Hiring and firing members of the board isnot a solution. A more fruitful and creativeway for them is to start an inward journeyand use recent history as a stepping-stoneto the emergence of a full stakeholderoriented attitude! The ingredients in aninward journey are: reading books andbooks about history, leadership, evolu-tion, human behaviour, strategy, art andphilosophy etc..

By dipping their minds in this brew, theywill sober up. Their fresh eyes and mindcan then conceptualize and act on the re-

ality in a more nuanced way. Then, theycan serve as reliable role models!

What can you do to help? I have two sug-gestions. First, buy 2 copies of “Ethics” byMel Thompson, read one of them. Sendthe other to the chairman of a companyboard: a company with a considerable im-pact on your daily life. Secondly, visitwww.ted.com and look at Barry Schwartzwhen he talks about: “The real crisis? Westopped being wise!”

Mind the gap!Bengt Skarstam

The Board of Directors and stakeholder values By Bengt Skarstam

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E.P

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sen

Scan Business | Column | The Board of Directors

With 272 rooms designed in styles varying from Scandi-navian to Oriental, the Radisson SAS Portman Hoteloffers something for everybody.

The four star hotel has five different categories of roomincluding standard rooms, business class rooms andpenthouse suites. And according to the new GeneralManager of the hotel, Tim Cordon, this combination givesthe hotel a diverse customer base. “I would say weprobably have about 65 per cent business travellers and 35leisure travellers here,” he says.

The unique room designs give visitors the chance topinpoint exactly what they want and thus provide an extraservice to customers. “All rooms have different decors andcolour schemes and clients who come back can pick theirfavourite. We then put it in their profile so that we can tryto get them that,” says Cordon.

But it is not only the broad variety of choice inside the hotelthat makes it special. Just as important is the locationwith many attractions right on the doorstep. Located inthe heart of London’s fashionable West End, the hoteloffers easy access to tube and bus connections. Besides,just a short walk away you find the ponds and lawns ofHyde Park and in the other direction Oxford Street’sshopping heaven. Cordon, who has also managed theRadisson SAS in Edinburgh and Stansted, says, “We havea fabulous location and a great history of being one ofLondon’s great hotels. Besides, we are the only SASRadisson in London, so it is a real flagship.”

The hotel has its own renowned restaurant with animpressive breakfast buffet and also houses one of thelargest conference and banqueting facilities in London.The large ballroom offers a perfect setting for bothbusiness and pleasure. “Last weekend we had a big eventfor a charity organisation here and we have weddings as


Scan Business | Regular | Hotel of the Month

Hotel of the Month

Radisson SAS Portman Hotel– Something for everybody… and a little extra for Scandinavians

well, the space is very flexible. We can have conferencesfor up to 600 people and as the only cross-European hotelwe offer free internet access to all guests,” Cordon says.

He is very pleased to have Nordea, Novo Nordisk, andStatoil among the clients who regularly use the hotel andits facilities. “It is great to be able to have business fromkey Scandinavian companies.” After a long day of work, orperhaps shopping, tired guests can unwind in the hotelbar or maybe re-energise in the hotel’s gym and outdoortennis court.

The hotel is within an hour’s drive from all London’s majorairports, so getting well on the way back home should betrouble-free too.

The hotel thus offers a good deal for most travellers but,as the hotel is part of the Euro Bonus system, maybe inparticular for Scandinavians. “Besides, of course we haveScandinavian room style and you are very likely to meet aScandinavian speaker at the desk,” Cordon says. “And ofcourse, I should mention the fact that we have an issue ofScan Magazine in all rooms,” he adds with smile.

Radisson SAS Portman Hotel22 Portman SquareLondon W1H7BG

For more information visit:www.radissonsas.com or call 44 (0)20 7208 6000For reservations:[email protected]

LETT is one of the largest full-service law �rms in Denmark. We are also one of the oldest, with a history dating back to 1869. We employ more than 165 lawyers across our o�ces in Copenhagen, Aarhus and Kolding.

Besides our strong presence in Denmark, LETT works closely with a number of leading international law �rms. This means we can provide high-quality advice to clients engaged in cross-border business.

We aim to dispense highly-practical results-orientated advice. This means we do not only advise our clients on what they may or may not do, but

strive to present the entire scope of options available to them within their legal context.

As part of this approach, our lawyers often go on secondment to foreign law �rms and our clients. These arrangements are highly e�ective. Clients see advantage in the fresh perspective that this in-house expertise brings to their business - longstanding client relationships are our hallmark.

At LETT we provide solutions and create possibilities.

CopenhagenRaadhuspladsen 4DK-1550 Copenhagen VTel +45 33 34 00 00Fax +45 33 34 00 01

Aarhus - RaadhusgaardenVester Allé 4DK-8000 Aarhus CTel +45 33 34 00 00Fax +45 33 34 00 01

KoldingJernbanegade 31DK-6000 KoldingTel +45 33 34 00 00Fax +45 33 34 00 01 Lett Law Firm www.lett.dk

LETT LAW FIRM

Scan Business | Regular | Hotel of the Month


Scan Business | News | Chambers of Commerce

A night of career interest and career intellect

By Stine Vejen Eriksen, Danish participant at Joint NordicCareer Seminar 3 March 2009

It was actually quite a dull and rainy Tuesday afternoon.That was until the Nordic Career Seminar at RadissonSAS Portman Hotel started.

From the moment I stepped into the seminar peoplewere already networking and sharing their knowledgewith each other. I instantly realised that my 30 minuteswalk in the rain had not been fruitless.

The career seminar was held by the Nordic Chambersof Commerce and offered three exciting speakersrepresenting three very different but very engagingcompanies.

The evening supplied me with some great ideas on howto structure and plan my career in the future and it also

gave me the opportunity to develop contacts with otherScandinavian professionals based in the UK.

Altogether a great night of career interest and careerintellect!

To read more about the evening’s topics and the threespeakers, please find DUCC’s Newsletter March 2009 onwww.ducc.co.uk

First of all we would like to say a big thank you to the teamat Paull & Williamsons in Aberdeen for hosting and spon-soring the first Aberdeen Wednesday Drinks. It proved tobe a popular and sought-after initiative for Norwegian-British business people in the region, and we hope it willcontinue to prosper. The next will be on 22 April.

March also saw the joint Nordic Career Seminar. Thetopics focused on career development and how to

advance, some from a companies’ perspective, othersfrom a personal level. They left us with a few pointers toremember when going after the dream job:communication is key, make your application short andeffective and make sure to bring your values to the table.

In April you can look forward to the annual joint Nordic ICTSeminar on 22 April. The topics will revolve around cleantechnology; how clean technology can help consumersand the industry save costs and the environment at thesame time, and how we can use technology as a tool intimes of recession.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Nordic ICT Seminar – 22 AprilAberdeen Wednesday Drinks – 22 AprilNordic YP Party at the Kensington Roof Gardens – 24 AprilNordic Thursday Drinks – 30 April

Norwegian-British Chamber of Commerce

Danish-UK Chamber of Commerce

Danish-UK Chamber of Commerce | Phone: +44 (0) 20 7259 6795 | Email: [email protected] | www.ducc.co.uk

Norwegian-British Chamber of Commerce | Phone: +44 (0) 20 7930 0181 | Email: [email protected] | www.nbccuk.com


Scan Business | Business Directory

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restaurants, the bar – the terrace is perfect in summerand spring.

For membership information please contact Lizette Bang.

Email: [email protected]: 07545 11 9339www.danishclub.co.uk


Scan Business | News | Chambers of Commerce

In March the Swedish Chamber hosted events spanning abroad range of subjects. Erik Penser Bankaktiebolag gave amuch appreciated tax seminar and over 100 guests gatheredto discover more about how UK tax changes for non-domiciles affect Swedes living in the UK.

Casa Decor London, the internationally acclaimed designshow, invited the Chamber’s Members to a networking re-ception at their beautiful offices inNottingHill.Members alsogot the opportunity to receive useful tips and tools on how toget the most out of their networking. “Making ConversationsCount” was a popular event gathering more than 70 guests.

The Chamber has an array of events coming up in the nextmonths with a continued focus on how to strengthen yourbusiness in the current climate. Save the dates in thecalendar below and go on to our website to read more andsign up.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Crisis and Business RiskManagement - 15 AprilSpeeding up in the slowdownwith Google - 21 AprilJoint Nordic ICT Seminar - 22 AprilSeminar with GrundbergMocatta Rakison - 14 MayAGM&Members’ Luncheon - 5 June

Swedish Chamber of Commerce for the UK

Swedish Chamber of Commerce for the UK | Phone: +44 (0) 20 7224 8001 | Email: [email protected] | www.scc.org.uk

Finnish-British Chamber of Commerce | Phone: +44 (0) 20 8741 6352 | Email: [email protected] | www.fbcc.co.uk

The Finnish-British Chamber of Commerce has interest-ing events coming up in April. A guided tour will bearranged in the Houses of Parliament on 17th April. Thetour will last 1.5 hours so you’ll get a good introduction tohow Parliament works.

Invest in Finland Seminarwill be organised at the Am-bassador’s residence on 21stApril. The seminar intro-duces business opportunitiesin Finland for internationalinvestors and companies inthe travel and tourism sector.If you are interested in par-ticipating in this event, pleasecontact our office for moreinformation.

FBCCMembers and guests are welcome to a Joint NordicParty at Roof Gardens on 24th April. This event is aimed atyoung professionals and it is a great opportunity to enjoya night out in a beautiful club and network with membersfrom other Nordic chambers. The traditional Vappu Lunchwill be held this year at the Ambassador’s residence at theend of the month on 29th April. Don’t forget to sign up.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Economic Update at J-M Capital – 2 AprilVisit to Houses of Parliament – 17 AprilInvest in Finland Seminar – 21 AprilJoint Nordic Party at Roof Gardens – 24 AprilVappu Lunch at the Ambassador's Residence – 29 AprilNordic Networking Drinks at Scandinavian Kitchen– 30 April

Finnish-British Chamber of Commerce


Scan Magazine | Scan News

MindroomSophie Dow is a journalist, a formerLondon resident, the founder of thecharity ‘Mindroom’ and is mother to An-nie, 17, who is mentally handicapped.Sophie attended the Women’s Group atThe Swedish Church in London on 12thMarch and presented a moving lectureconcerning how lives can drasticallychange without warning. Sophie, a for-mer film journalist was once immersedin a glamorous world surrounded bycelebrities. Today she is trying to changethe world for children with learning dis-abilities in Britain. Sophie Dow’s daugh-ter Annie was diagnosed as “mentallyhandicapped” when she was three yearsold but this was only the beginning ofmany long and tortuous consultations.

“When I realized that Annie’s prob-lems would not go away with someAbidec-drops or physical therapy I de-cided to find out more. Being a journal-ist, I started to search for informationonline and went to conferences through-out Europe. I wanted to know what wecould do for her.”

What she found was an array of dis-jointed and confusing information, even

conferences handling the subject wereunimpressive.

Over the years, her vision to provideinformation and a network clarified. In2001 she started her organization ‘Min-droom’ to explore Euro-developmentalissues in learning difficulties, raiseawareness, and help other parentsseeking diagnoses for their children.

Mindroom has produced a series ofbrochures, in collaboration with leadingresearchers, on ADHD, DAMP, autism,Asperger’s syndrome, dyslexia andTourette syndrome. The brochures arecalled “It takes all kind of minds.“ Mind-room has also managed to establish arelationship with the Royal Mail which isset to distribute 30,000 of Sophie’s infor-mation packs to every school in Britain.

Mindroom has also influenced thismajor company’s employment strategyand policy. Up to 20% of their employeesnow have some kind of learning diffi-culty. Sophie encouraged the postalservice to focus on the advantages, forexample someone with Asperger’s syn-dromemight be ideally suited to sortingmail, while another with ADHD wouldbe better at delivering it.

In addition to brochures Mindroomhas also organized three international

conferences on learning disabilities.Her ambition is to set up a one-stop

diagnostic centre for children with spe-cial needs. Scotland’s first Mindroomwill bring together facilities for assess-ment, diagnosis, research, development,education and training. It will cost about£8m to build and she has the backing ofa number of the world’s leading experts.

“I have no idea where the money willcome from,” Dow says. “But I know Iwill find it. I’d like to raise it within thenext three years. There are so manychildren and families that need help andwe have to do it as fast as we can.”

SCAN NEWS Edited by Emelie Krugly

Pho

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amG

olds

tein

WeSC stands for ‘We are the SuperlativeConspiracy’. This Swedish streetwearlabel continues its expansion, opening aflagship store in London. The new storecarries the brand’s entire collection forthe first time in the UK as well as show-casing fine artists. The location? 38Carnaby Street, W1 London..The company was founded in Stockholmin 1999 by Greger Hagelin, a former pro-fessional skateboarder, and is quoted

on the Swedish stock exchange. It hasoutlets in 20 countries.

Entrepreneur and BBC Dragons’ DenDeborah Meaden has a 30% stake in theUK operations of the Swedish fashionlabel. Turnover last year was £28m, with25% coming from the US.

New WeSC store on Carnaby Street


Scan Magazine | Culture

Children’s Drawing Competition:

ScanMagazine gives you a chance to win the first 4books in the Taynikma series. We have 5 sets ofTaynikma 1-4 to give away!

Taynikma is a universe full of unusual creatures andcharacters with special powers. Send us your finestdrawing of creatures or action such as they appear inTaynikma before the 20th of April 2009 to:Scan Magazine,53A Clapham High Street,London SW4 7TG.Please mark your envelope: Taynikma

We will contact the winner via phone, so remember toinclude your phone number.

For inspiration visit Taynikma:www.taynikma.co.uk

(Conditions apply)

From this month onwards, I’ll be writingabout the latest and greatest music com-ing out of Scandinavia. There’s lots of it –and that’s why I started themonthly Scan-dipop club night, and its correspondingwebsite, www.scandipop.co.uk. The Scan-dinavians are producing far too much highquality music for it to go unnoticed!

This month sees the return of Norwegianelectrophile duo, Royksopp, and their newalbum ‘Junior’. And where their previousLP ‘Melody AM’ was all down-tempo,electronic beauty, ‘Junior’ speeds up thepace and finds the boys in a full-on discomood! Lykke Li and Anneli Drecker guestvocal, but the standout track (and forth-coming single) is the stunning ‘The Girland The Robot’ – with vocals from inter-nationally successful Swede, Robyn. Itsets the tone of the poppier, more danceorientated album.

And it seems that Scandinavian dancemusic is flavour of the month in the UK at

themoment. BBC Radio 1 are giving heavyrotation to the latest round of exports:‘Can’t Get Over’ by September; ‘Chem-istry’ by Velvet; ‘In The Heat Of The Night’by Star Pilots; ‘Every Word’ by Ercola &Daniella. Both September (pictured leftalongside me!) and Velvet are performingon the ‘Dance Nation’ tour, which makesits way around the UK throughout April.

Alphabeat’s music finally has a UK homeagain. After leaving EMI in December,they’ve now signed to Polydor Records.And they’ve already started working on anew album. The first album from the Dan-ish band sold over 100,000 copies in theUK last year.

And finally, a new discovery in Denmark.‘Kun For Mig’ has spent the last fewmonths nestled in the Danish top 10, a lotof that time at number 1. It’s by a ladycalled Medina, and it’s an epic piece ofelectronic wizardry. A string laden intro,calm melodious verse, and a thumping

club anthem of a chorus. It’s magical. Youcan listen to it on youtube.com, where it’salready had over 700,000 views.

Contact: [email protected]

Scandinavian Music By Carl Batterbee


Scan Magazine | Culture Calendar

APRIL

Gro Thorsen (until 8 May)Norweigan artist Gro Thorsen’s paintingsreflect the constant, ever-changingmove-ment of urban lives. Her work gives fig-ures a sense of identity and purpose whilecreating busy, yet subtle, cinematic, frag-mented cityscapes. The Jill Gallery is de-lighted to announce her second UK exhi-

bition, which will present new works, in-cluding the largest composite paintingshown by the artist in this country, entitled‘Seasons’, and a new approach to lawntennis at Wimbledon.www.jillgeorgegallery.co.ukAdmission free. Monday-Friday 10am-6pm, Thursdays until 8pm, Saturday11am-5pm. Jill George Gallery, 38 Lex-ington Street, Soho, London W1F 0LL.

Raising the bar: Influential voices inmetal (until 10 May)Innovative Danish jewellery artist KimBuck, an influential metal worker, exhibitsher silverwork this spring at Middles-brough Institute of Modern Art as part of

a large craft exhibition from IC: InnovativeCraft. After success in Edinburgh, this ex-hibition is now in Middlesbrough: the ex-hibition focuses on senior artists who haveestablished significant international rep-utations.Tues, Weds, Fri and Sat 10am-5pm, Thurs10am-8pm, Sun 12noon-4pm, Mondaysclosed. Middlesbrough Institute of ModernArt Centre Square, Middlesbrough TS12AZ. [email protected]

Norwegian design and architecture(until 14 June)Along with several other spectacularbuildings, Snøhetta’s Oslo Opera House ison the shortlist for the Brit Insurance De-

Scandinavian Culture Calendar– Where to go, what to see? It’s all happening here!

Eppu NormaaliBy: Emelie Krugly

Eppu Normaali are not your stereotyp-ical hotel-trashing superstars. Theirfans are also well-behaved: they listeninstead of screaming. Eppu Normaalising about relationships and are theonly band to have written a love songcalled “I’m going to make mashed po-tatoes out of you.” They say they are“more Finnish than the Finns”: theycertainly have a Finnish rock-steadycalm.

We meet at the 100 Club on OxfordStreet where they conclude their “Klu-biottella” tour. Their last gig in the UKwas Liverpool, 1986. “We have many

English music heroes, The Who, SexPistols and Rolling Stones to name afew.”

The band formed in 1976, when 16-year old Juha Torvinen and Martti Syrjädecided they had what it took: “Juhahad the looks and I thought I was afunny enough guy to be a rock star,”says lead singer Martti Syrjä. “Back inthose days punk had taken a grip onFinland and that inspired us. None of uscould either play or sing very well, butto be a punk band you didn’t really needto.” Martti’s brother Mikko, Aku Syrjäand Mikko Saarela joined later.

In 1977 they named themselvesEppu Normaali, Finnish for a characterin Mel Brooks’s “Young Frankenstein”.They sent out demos and soon the in-dependent POK Rekords signed themup. While they got good reviews, theydid not break-through until 1984.

The album “Rupisia riimejä karmeitatarinoita” was released then, followed by“Kahdeksas ihme” in 1985 (which fea-tures their most legendary song, ‘Ki-tara, taivas ja tähdet’ (guitar, heavenand stars); the third, “Valkoinen kupla”,

was also a hit. The three albums com-bined to 300,000 sales, a huge numberin a country of 5 million people.

Eppu Normaali have never triedhard to break through abroad. “Beingrespected in Finland and touching na-tive souls is something we’re perfectlyhappy about.” Another reason is thelyrics, which, Martti says, “are almostare impossible to make any sense of inEnglish.”

Over the years there have beenmany times when they have hadenough of each other and the limelight.They take indefinite breaks, which “hasbeen the reason why we’ve survived allthese years as a band and have notended up hating each other.”

The guys are getting itchy to finishtheir sound check so our meeting ends.“Yes, we will probably end up like TheRolling Stones playing until we drop butwe will be healthier,” says Martti. Theywould like to be remembered “as theguys who were so stubborn that theycouldn’t stop, always doing exactly whatthey wanted to do, not caring aboutwhat others think.”


Scan Magazine | Culture Calendar

sign Awards for architecture. The awardscoincide with an exhibition at the DesignMuseum, presenting the finalists for sev-eral categories, including two other Nor-wegian contenders: car manufacturerThink, which is currently developing carinterior design with the Royal Academy ofArts; and Kode Design for its mine clear-ing gear, now being produced by Rofi In-dustrier. The world’s most interesting andforward-looking designs have been nom-inated by industry experts spanning sevencategories: Architecture, Fashion, Furni-ture, Graphics, Interactive, Product andTransport, to be judged by a panel chairedby Alan Yentob and including designer andenvironmentalist Karen Blincoe, and ar-chitect Peter Cook.Brit Insurance Designs of the Year Exhibi-tion 12 February- 14 June 2009Design Museum, Shad Thames, LondonSE1 2YD www.designmuseum.org

Book launch (6 April)Swedish-speaking Finn poet and illustra-tor, Karin Dahlbacka, is launching “Un-washed but willing” her latest work at‘Boat Ting’, a London Music and PoetryClub. Temple Pier, Embankment £6 / £4concs. 8:30pm. www.boat-ting.co.uk

The Rasmus (6-11 April)To date the teen rock band (whose first gigwas their school hall) has sold 2.5 millionalbums worldwide. Lauri, then 17, leftschool because of the overnight success.Rasmus will be performing throughoutthe UK at the following venues - 6/04/09Brighton Concorde, 7/4/09 Leeds, TheCockpit, 8/04/09 Manchester Acad-emy,9/4/09 London, Heaven, 10/4/09Wolverhampton, Wulfrun Hall, 11/4/09Nottingham, Rescue Rooms.www.therasmus.com

Movie: Let the Right One In(Released 10 April)A horror movie with a difference, and win-ner of numerous awards, it follows Oscarwho is bullied at school and his new friendEli - who is not quite human. Based on anovel by Swedish author John AjvideLindquist and directed by Tomas Alfredson.

Jukka-Pekka Saraste conducts the Phil-harmonia (15-16 April)Saraste is one of the exceptional conduc-tors of his generation. The programmecontains: Rachmaninov's Second PianoConcerto. Written after being restored tocomposition by hypnotherapist Dr Dahl(to whom it is dedicated), the concerto isoverwhelmingly optimistic. Stravinsky'sFirebird Suite moves through enchantedlullabies and demonic dance to a blazingfinale. This is music to lift the spirit.15/4 Bedford Corn Exchange, Bedford at7.30pm St. Paul’s Sq., Bedford, MK40 1SL.www.bedfordcornexchange.co.uk16/4 Royal Festival Hall, London at 7.30pmwww.southbankcentre.co.uk

The Danish Club: Queen Margrethe II’sBirthday (16 April)The Danish Club will bring out the cham-pagne and celebrate in style with black tiedinner and dance. This is a very popularevent, so book early!Venue: the dining room/restaurant. Guestof Honour: H E Ambassador Birger Riis-Jørgensen. Time: 7 to 7.30 Price: £62 - in-cludes welcome drink, 3 course dinner,wine, coffee and entertainment.Booking: [email protected] 07545 11 9339

Scandipop (16 April)Live DJ playing Scandinavian popmusic toa dance floor of friendly revellers: lots ofpop, dance, and schlager Eurovision-style- with cheap alcohol all night!Zen Bar, Denmark St, WC2H 8LP 8.30p.m.- 3a.m. £3 entry or free for students.

Lost Soul Brothers (23 April)Danish headed soul & blues band LostSoul Brothers will be performing a set ofclassic hits at Jazz After Dark in Soho.Think: Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, BBKing and James Brown.

7.30-9pm. Followed by an evening ofblues until 1.30am. Table reservations arerecommended.Jazz After Dark, 9 Greek Street, LondonW1D 4DQ. Entry is £5 after 9pm.www.jazzafterdark.co.ukwww.myspace.com/lostsoulbrothers

Mikko Alatalo (25 April)Family Concert with Mikko Alatalo, a fore-runner of Finnish rock music togetherwith his band mate Juice Leskinen. Since1970, he has recorded 46 albums andwritten over 600 songs. His output coverssocial criticism, humour, children’s songsand pure pop. The concert is organised byFinn-Guild and the Finnish Church in Lon-don. 33 Albion Street, London SE16. Tick-ets available from Finn-Guild 020 73873508, www.finn-guild.org or from theChurch.

Michala Petri & Lars Hannibal (25 April)Danish recorder player Petri is sought af-ter as a soloist by many orchestras, in-cluding the Academy of St. Martin in theFields. She has released 34 recordings,toured extensively over 4 continents, andhas had dozens of pieces written for her.Michala Petri & Lars Hannibal bring theirEast meets West Quartet Project to Cado-gan Hall, reflecting the possibilities incombining Western and Chinese classicaltraditions.7.30pm Cadogan Hall, Sloane Terrace,London. Tickets between £12-£25. Tel. 0207730 4500, www.cadoganhall.com

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