The year was 1912. Captain Scott and his party of intrepid explorers had reached the South Pole only to discover a Norwegian named Roald Amundsen had beaten them to it. At sea the mighty Titanic, flag ship of the White Star Fleet had sunk off Newfoundland with the loss of 1,500 lives. On the domestic front Parliament passed the Minimum Wage for Coalminers Bill and in Cardiff, soon to be the coal exporting capital of the world, the Cardiff Business Club was established.

After 97 years the Club still retains the high aspirations of that group of businessmen, who believed that through mutual support and understanding, they could assist one another in achieving their commercial objectives and share business interests.

Today the Club still strives to attain that goal and remains one of the best supported organisations of its kind. In its long and illustrious history the Club has been a means of bringing the world to Cardiff and has witnessed those momentous events of the 20th century that included two World Wars and the post-war social and political climate of the 1930s. In 1938 Anthony Eden told the Club he was on Hitler’s Black List and urged Britain to build defences, warning that each day the full extent of the Czechoslovakian sacrifice was unfolding.
With the return of peace the Club continued to prosper and became a forum for leading political and industrial figures.

Two future prime ministers - Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have presented their political strategies, international business figures like Michael Moritz and Peter Sutherland have spoken to packed meetings as have Lord Digby Jones, the Duke of Westminster, Lord Attenborough, Lord Heseltine, and captains of industry like Sir Martin Sorrel and Sir Terry Leahy.

Following the death of its president David Cole in 2003 and the election of Sir David (now Lord) Rowe-Beddoe as chairman, the Club moved from the Park Hotel to the five-star St David’s Hotel & Spa on Cardiff Bay’s waterfront and this proved a success. In 2003 Cardiff Business Club reorganised its constitution and the traditional committee was replaced by a new Board of Directors to take the Club forward.

Having played a prominent role in business circles in South Wales since its foundation Cardiff Business Club still relies on the goodwill and support of the business community and in particular the sponsorship by national and local business such as Brewin Dolphin and Odgers Berndtson.

No other such club has the distinction of having HRH the Prince of Wales as its Patron and being able to pride itself in being a true, non-political Speakers’ Club. Today directors and members look to the Welsh business community to ensure the survival of the ideals of its founders and its many distinguished vice-presidents over the past nine decades.

For its part the business community has been generous in its support. In 2005 a scholarship scheme was introduced which, in 2007, was widened so that a prize of £1000 was given to an outstanding student in each of the three business schools in South Wales - Cardiff Business School, Glamorgan Business School and the Cardiff School of Management. For the 2009/10 season the Club will award a travelling scholarship kindly sponsored by the University of Wales. This encouragement that the Club gives to students of Business Studies will run alongside the existing scheme which sees a table of ten students, drawn from the business schools of South Wales, who are invited to attend each dinner.

In the 2008 HRH The Prince of Wales kindly confirmed that he would continue as Patron of the Club. He takes a close interest in the Club and has reiterated his invitation to all guest speakers to say what their organisation is doing in terms of sustainable business.

The Club will have its centenary in the autumn of 2012 and a committee had been formed to prepare suitable celebrations to mark that auspicious occasion.

In keeping with tradition Cardiff Business Club’s meetings remain open to the public, and the newly enhanced website allows individuals to join and book dinners on line, all of which contributes to a keenly anticipated new season providing another successful chapter in the Club’s history.