We start our 2026 programme with a debate on the outlook for the economy in the UK & Euro area with two leading forecasters: Victoria Clarke, Santander Corporate and Investment Bank and Dr Holger Schmieding from Berenberg in London.

Victoria Clarke is the UK Chief Economist at Santander Corporate and Investment Bank and is widely recognised as one of the City’s leading voices on the UK economy. Before joining Santander, she established a reputation for incisive economic analysis at Investec. Victoria’s career also includes influential roles within the UK government. She contributed to EU Budget negotiations at HM Treasury, supported Downing Street’s economic response to the financial crisis as part of the National Economic Council team at the Cabinet Office, and played a key role in the Star Chamber team during the 2010 Spending Review.

Dr Holger Schmieding is Chief Economist at Berenberg in London. Before joining  Berenberg in October 2010, Holger worked as Chief Economist Europe at Merrill Lynch, Bank of America and Bank of America-Merrill Lynch in London. Prior to this, he also worked as a journalist at “Westfälische Nachrichten” in Germany, as head of a research group on Eastern and Central Europe at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy and as a desk economist at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, DC.

The event will be chaired by SPE Councillor, Sonali Punhani. Sonali is the UK Economist and Director at Bank of America.

The meeting starts at 5.30pm on 19 January and will be held at the offices of Norton Rose Fulbright LLP, 3 More London Riverside, London, SE1 2AQ.

Doors open from 5.00pm. The talks will be followed by networking drinks until 7.30pm.

Members must pre-register well in advance. They can do so via the SPE office. 

We are grateful to Norton Rose Fulbright for generously hosting this event.