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© Business Money Ltd 2006 |
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FDA Dinner 200512 May 2005 There had been a lot of talk regarding the location for this year’s FDA Dinner. Anecdotally at least, ExCel seemed not to be a popular choice and whilst enduring an arduous urban trek across London from Paddington to Royal Victoria Dock I could see why. But upon arrival the facilities were fine and the bar area of the nearest hotel, the Novotel, quickly filled as guests gathered and readied themselves for the night ahead. It was in this bar that I met my hosts from Cattles Invoice Finance who very kindly put me up and kept me entertained throughout the evening - thanks Cattles. This was my first FDA Dinner and since joining Business Money just under a year ago I had heard lots about them. For the week leading up to the event everyone had been saying: “See you there”. I soon realised this was folly. It is a massive event with over 750 of the industry’s top talent converging for an evening of food, drink and entertainment. So who you actually see comes down to military style planning or luck – it’s not a networking event, it’s a party. I entered the human pinball machine that was the champagne reception with a warm welcome from Sybil Fawlty. This was my first glimpse of the 70s theme that was to continue throughout the evening. The FDA Education Awards were presented to graduates during a select ceremony prior to the dinner, before outgoing FDA Chairman, David Robertson, took the stage. David’s welcome speech included a run down of factoring through the years backed by a comprehensive description of the factoring family tree. The message: invoice finance has come a long way in 30 years and the industry continues to change apace; those who embrace change will be most successful in coming years. An enjoyable meal was followed by Alan Hansen’s dry tales of his glory days at Liverpool FC before the 70s theme continued with music from ‘The ABBA Girls’ and ‘The Glamsters’. The masses soon drifted off into two groups – dancing queens and barflies – and the partying continued well into the early hours. So what did I think to my first FDA Dinner? I felt as though I had been to the end of season players’ party at the Premier League. This is a tightknit industry and salesmen seem to change sides as often as footballers. This creates a fantastic environment to party but in tough times, can all the teams afford the wage bill? Thanks FDA, a great party – looking forward to next year! Scott Jenkins
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