The Group
shall be known as the British Business Group, BBG in short
2.1. The objectives of the BBG are:-
2.1.1. To promote the growth of British trade in
goods and services within
2.1.2. To provide a forum for British
businessmen and women to exchange views, ideas and information relevant to
business and residency in
2.1.3. To facilitate relations between British
nationals resident in
2.1.4. To provide a social environment to
support networking between British nationals resident in
2.1.5. To encourage contact with the Saudi
Business community, thereby promoting trade between the two parties.
2.1.6. To raise sufficient funds to support the
activities of the group
2.2. The above objectives may be met principally
through the organisation and management of events and meetings conducive to
free and open discussion between participants.
Events shall be tailored to specifically meet one or more of the
objectives.
2.3. Communication with the membership is of key
importance to the continuance of the BBG.
At the discretion of the committee, a monthly newsletter, annual
directory and annual survey of member feedback shall be published.
3.1. The organisation shall be formed
through membership, subject to the conditions detailed in section 8.
3.2. The membership and financial year of
the BBG shall run from 01 January through to 31 December in any given year.
3.3. The BBG shall be run on behalf of the
membership, with an organising committee comprising normally 8 persons drawn
from the general membership, and at least one representative of the Consulate
General.
3.4. The role of the committee shall be to
organise functions, events or other activities that in the opinion of the
committee serve to meet the objectives contained in section 2; and in
compliance with the composition and duties detailed in section 8.
3.5. Activities will be conducted with due
consideration of the regulations customs and traditions of
3.6. Each year, normally in February, an
Annual General meeting shall be called to which all full members shall be
invited to attend. The proceedings of
the meeting shall be to consider all matters proposed by the committee, but
shall include at the least:
3.6.1. A review of the annual accounts,
presented by the treasurer and agreed by the BBG auditors
3.6.2. The review and appointment of honorary
auditors for the following year
3.6.3. The election of committee members for the
following year
3.6.4. The agreement of fees and subscriptions
payable for the coming membership year.
3.7. An EGM may be called by the committee
at any time. On matters relating to the
Constitution or the management of the BBG, the Chairman must call an EGM upon
the receipt of a petition signed by not less than 25 ordinary members of the
group, stating their reason for such action.
3.8. Announcement of an EGM or the AGM shall
be made to all ordinary members at least six weeks prior to the date of the
meeting. All ordinary members shall be
entitled to attend. A short minute of
the meeting will be made available to the ordinary membership within 14 days of
the meeting having taken place.
3.9. The BBG committee shall appoint an
administrative secretary, and shall be responsible for agreeing his/her duties,
working hours and remuneration to ensure the smooth running of the BBG.
3.10. The committee shall reserve the right to
deny admission to any organised event to any member or guest of a member should
the committee consider it has reasonable cause to do so.
3.11. The committee shall be accountable for all
monies received, held or paid on behalf of the BBG. Where payments are made by cheque, either
the Treasurer or the Chairman, and one other member of the committee whose
signature has been recorded with the bank shall sign the cheque.
3.12. Funds shall at all times be considered the
property of the membership, and be maintained in the Saudi British Bank.
3.13. The committee shall be entitled to withdraw
membership status from any member whose conduct is, or has been in the opinion
of the committee contrary to the interests of the BBG or its membership.
Full Members
Membership is
open to any British Passport holder, whose primary nationality is British, who
is working in the kingdom and resident in Jeddah or the surrounding area.
4.1 Honorary Members
Membership
may be offered to persons offering significant service to the furtherance of
the BBG’s objectives. Honorary
membership shall normally include the British Consul General, his/her nominees
and senior trade and industry representatives in Jeddah. No fees shall be due from honorary members,
nor shall they be entitled to vote on BBG matters.
4.2 Associate Members
Membership is
open to non-British, non-Saudi residents of Jeddah or the surrounding area, who
can demonstrate to the committee that they can further British interests. They have no voting rights and cannot serve
on the committee.
4.3 Saudi Affiliate Member
Membership is
open to Saudi Nationals, both men and ladies, who can demonstrate to the
committee that they can further British interests, and
opportunities exist for collaboration between their and other member’s
organisations. They have no voting
rights and cannot serve on the committee.
4.4 Visiting members
Membership is
open to persons holding British passports who hold senior positions in British
business organisations and who visit
4.5 Guests
Guests shall
be encouraged to attend suitable meetings and functions, subject to
availability of places, accompanied by a sponsoring member of the BBG and
subject to the discretion of the Committee.
5.1 This should be completed on the prescribed
form, and supported by the required documentation and membership fees due. These should be handed in person to either
the BBG administrative secretary at the BBG Office or any Committee member.
5.2 All membership applications must be
proposed and seconded by current members of the BBG, with the application
signed and dated by the proposer.
5.3 Election to membership shall be by simple
majority vote of the committee in office at the time. If the committee is evenly divided, the
chairman shall have the deciding vote.
5.4 Should membership be declined, the
membership committee shall inform the proposer for membership. The proposer may appeal with reasons one
month before the next AGM where the general membership present may vote by
simple majority.
5.5 Membership shall not be transferable
6.1 New members shall be charged a one off joining fee. All members, with the exception of honorary
members shall be charged an annual membership fee.
6.2 Joining fees, and the membership fee for each category of
membership may only be reviewed through the Annual General Meeting /EGM if
convened.
6.3
The joining fee shall be payable in full at all times. The annual membership fee shall be payable in
full for members joining between 01 January and 31 August. 50% of the fee shall be payable for members
joining between 01 September 31 December.
6.4 The committee shall have discretion to launch fixed period
promotions from time to time to promote membership.
6.5 The fees shall be used to cover routine administrative costs
and, at the discretion of the committee, to:-
6.5.1 defray any
expenses of guest speakers
6.5.2 subsidise any
functions and meetings
6.5.3 support
business initiatives
6.5.4 support
liaison with other business groups
6.5.5 make
charitable donations
6.5.6 defray any
reasonable expenses incurred by the chairman and committee members in the
furtherance of their duties
6.6 No fees shall be refundable should a member ‘lapse’ during
their membership year.
6.7 Membership will be deemed to have lapsed should
the fees due remain outstanding beyond the last day of February. For the avoidance of doubt, their lapse date
shall be regarded as the date their membership was due to renew which will fall
on the 1st January each year.
6.8 Lapsed Members may be reinstated but shall be required to pay
both the membership and joining fee. The
joining fee may be waived, in extenuating circumstances following a formal vote
by the committee at a BBG committee meeting
6.9 Members transferring from one British Business group in
7.1 The purpose of the committee
shall be to:
7.1.1 promote and
increase membership
7.1.2 maintain
the financial soundness of the group
7.1.3 organise,
manage and promote activities which aim to achieve one or more of the BBG
objectives
7.1.4 maintain
a dialogue between the membership and the Consulate General
7.2 Committee members shall be accountable
to the membership, and shall be elected by the membership.
7.3 Committee members shall serve the BBG
annually, with their membership of the committee being reviewed annually at the
AGM. Nominations for committee members
shall be opened and announced to members with notice of the AGM, with any
required ballot held before the AGM.
7.4 The elected committee shall, through
their own procedure, elect a chairman and treasurer. They shall also be free to appoint other
roles as they deem necessary for the smooth running of the BBG. No role other than administrative secretary
shall carry remuneration.
7.5 A committee member may not occupy the
role of chairman for more than four consecutive years.
7.6 The committee shall agree internal
working practices and procedures.
Election of chairman and treasurer shall be by secret ballot.
7.7 It is expected that the committee
shall meet at least 6 (six) times per year. Minutes shall be made available to
the ordinary membership.
7.8 All motions presented to committee may
be carried by simple majority of committee members present at the time of
voting.
7.9 A quorum shall consist of a consulate
nominee and four other committee members.
7.10 In the event of a committee member
resigning (other than a consul nominee), the general membership shall be
invited to nominate a replacement. The
committee shall be at liberty to elect a replacement member, with the decision
ratified at the next AGM. Vacancies
arising within three months of the next AGM shall be held open to a membership
vote.
7.11 Should the Chairman or Treasurer resign
during their year of office, the committee shall have the right to nominate
between themselves an interim acting chairman or acting treasurer until
ratified at the next AGM.
7.12 The committee may create working groups,
led by a committee member, and seconding one or more of the membership for the
purposes of progressing the objectives of the BBG.
8.1 The BBG has an obligation to keep all
membership data secure. To this end, no
member of the BBG may copy, share or divulge a general membership listing
without the prior written consent of the committee
8.2 Membership data shall be kept on a
secure database at the BBG office and a security back up to be kept at a
separate location to be determined from time to time by the committee.
8.3 In line with it’s objectives to
promote trade, the BBG shall ordinarily publish a directory of services and member
companies. Distribution and availability
shall take due consideration of security concerns.
8.4 The BBG shall in all matters,
particularly in respect of the distribution of information and the holding of
functions, bear in mind the prevailing security environment and shall at a
minimum obey all security precautions recommended by the Consulate-General or
other similarly qualified official body.
9.1 Proposals to replace alter or extend this
constitution or any part shall be submitted in writing to the chairman of the
committee. The committee shall circulate
the proposal to the membership, together with any comments or
recommendations. Wherever possible,
changes to the constitution should be limited to the AGM. Where timing and urgency
demand, a simple vote after circulation of amendments to the general membership
shall decide the acceptance or rejection of the amendments by simple majority.