Nearly a year after it set up shop in Gibraltar, Euroship Supplies Ltd has established itself as the largest Ship Chandler on the Rock.

Euroship offers vessels calling at Gibraltar and Algeciras, as well as the local maritime industry and shipping community, the widest range of products and services. The company has had a very busy 12 months and has won an increasing number of contracts as its Gibraltar base has grown steadily. One recent win was a contract to supply materials for the cruise ship Royal Princess for its refit carried out in Gibraltar by its new owners. Euroship has also been the key supplier to the “New Flame” salvage operation.
“We spotted a gap in the local market some time ago and we spent quite a lot of time considering how best to fill that gap,” said Juan Carlos Rivera, Euroship’s General Manager. “In the end though we decided that the best way was just to get on and do it ourselves. It has taken a little longer this way and our learning curve has been steep, but we can see that there is still massive potential for this business.”
The potential would appear to be there. Over the last ten years the number of ships calling at Gibraltar has more than doubled from around 3700 in 1996 to over 7500 in 2006 according to the Port of Gibraltar. With Gibraltar and neighbouring Algeciras making a play among ship owners and ship charterers to become the ports of choice in the south western Mediterranean, the growth looks set to continue. Around 90,000 merchant vessels pass through the nearby Straits of Gibraltar each year, as do one in every five of the world’s containers, so the potential would seem as close to a racing certainty as one could hope for.
“The growth is there but just as the market expands so the competition gets more intense. We can supply most things a vessel and its crew needs, more often than not at very short notice. Our costs may not always be the lowest given Gibraltar’s relatively high cost base, but we have found that customers will pay for the convenience and certainty of getting the service. There is also the added competition from non-local chandlers operating in Spain who come into Gibraltar on a daily basis. The airport obviously gives Gibraltar another advantage if we need to fly in crew or spare parts quickly for a visiting vessel.”
“Our staff are experienced professionals who understand the importance of working round the clock to meet all the customer’s requirements in a clear and timely manner. We are one of the largest suppliers of specialist marine, industrial and technical products in the western Mediterranean and if there is something that we don’t have in stock we can usually source it pretty quickly.”
“Although we supply goods and services predominantly to vessels calling at Gibraltar or at off port limits, we will also supply vessels calling at Algeciras if the need arises. We are building up our Algeciras operations and once we are fully established there, we plan to set up in Morocco so that we can supply vessels calling at any of the three major Strait ports.”

As part of their ongoing commitment to Gibraltar, Barclays Wealth recently held a Sports Sponsors evening at the Rock Hotel.

Joining Government Minister Edwin Reyes, representatives of the sporting organisations currently enjoying sponsorship from Barclays Wealth, heard first hand about Franco Cassar’s vision and strategy in involving Barclays Wealth with junior, grass roots level sports in Gibraltar.

From football to hockey, handball to gymnastics, rowing to squash, Barclays Wealth is committed to assist these and other organisations in shaping our youth of today into athletes of tomorrow.

Named “Enterprise Gibraltar” the idea of the show is to educate the expatriate community in Spain on how to go about doing business in Gibraltar, and the merits of Gibraltar’s well – regulated finance centre. The show will go out monthly live from the 8th floor of the Eliott Hotel.

The first guests on the Show Hosted by REM´s Maurice Boland were Chief Minister Peter Caruana, Dominique Searle, Editor of the Gibraltar Chronicle, and Kerry Blight Chairman of the Gibraltar Bankers Association.

Argus Group Holdings Limited announced earnings for the six months ended September 30, 2007 of $18.5 million, up 6.8 percent from the corresponding period in the previous year.

Gerald Simons, President & Chief Executive Officer of the Argus Group, comments: “We are pleased to report that the Group’s strategy of focusing on growth by building upon the strong foundations of our core businesses – life, pensions, health and property & casualty insurance – has yielded good results in all areas of our business. This, together with enhanced commission income and acceptable investment returns, especially in light of recent market conditions, has combined to produce record earnings for the six months ended September 30, 2007.

Andy Baker, Chief Executive of the local Argus Insurance Company said: “The overall increases in premiums coupled with our strong results are
very pleasing”.
Andy went on to say: “The local wholly owned subsidiary continues to add to the group’s bottom line, thanks to our well managed and motivated team here in Gibraltar”.
At a recent board meeting held in Gibraltar, members of the main Board of Argus Bermuda, congratulated the local team on the success of the Gibraltar operation, and reiterated how important Argus Europe was to the long-term strategy of the Argus group.

General account assets of the Argus Group at September 30, 2007 totalled $645 million
and segregated funds assets under its control increased to $1.3 billion. The Group now has assets of almost $2 billion under
its administration.

The ‘No trick, just the treats’ Barclays promotion this Halloween raised three thousand pounds for Save the Children Fund.

Barclays customers were encouraged to dress their children in Halloween costumes to receive a treat, a sweet stuffed pumpkin. Barclays staff, not ones to miss a trick, suitably attired themselves in costumes as evidenced by the photograph. A fun day of hocus pocus was had by all and Barclays Wealth as is now customary matching pound for pound the monies raised.

General Insurance brokers WestMed Insurance Services Ltd and International Health Insurance (IHI), a member of the BUPA group, co-hosted an international health insurance seminar at the O´Callaghan Eliott’s Hotel on 27th November attended by an audience of key corporate guests.

Introducing Susanne Bech Madsen, Branch Office Manager IHI Spain, Tyrone Montovio, Chief Executive of WestMed Insurance Services Ltd said “At WestMed we are committed to excelling in providing service and solutions to our clients ever growing needs of which Private Medical Insurance is key. BUPA´s connection with International Health Insurance (IHI) has served to strengthen the framework of health insurance needs throughout the world and it is with great pleasure that I welcome you to experience IHI as a fresh alternative approach to Health Insurance for Gibraltar.”

In addition to explaining IHI’s established ties with BUPA International, the audience were given details of noteworthy benefits offered in their Corporate, Individual and Travel Insurance Plans. These include dental and optical cover options not normally available from other insurers, no exclusions on pre-existing conditions and free cover for any number of children under 9 years of age for each adult policyholder.