Are you about to relocate for a major lifestyle and career change?

Pi Productions, the creators of Grand Designs and the reinvented MasterChef, are looking for couples and families planning to quit the rat race for a better life.

They are making a brand new documentary series for Channel 5 that follows people as they relocate to start a new life and a new business. This is an aspirational show, propelling people to follow their dreams.

Whether it’s moving to the countryside to run a farm, setting up a surf school by the sea or opening a BnB in a bustling new town, a Guest Gite business or vineyards we want to hear your story.

NEW PRIME-TIME CHANNEL 5 TV DOCUMENTARY IS LOOKING FOR PEOPLE ABOUT TO CHANGE THEIR LIVES

We are looking for families or couples who are planning to ditch the 9 to 5 to pursue a career in something they are passionate about. We want to showcase the amazing lifestyle business opportunities out there and show what it takes to make a new business a success. 

Interested parties can email : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or give us a call on 0203 761 4522 or 0203 761 4569.

There is no pressure to take part at the initial enquiry stage.

Blog submitted by: Laura Coquereau at Pi Productions working with The French Property Network - Cle France.

Sterling surges to multi-month highs as "Remain" camp leads in 'Brexit' poll.

The pound has posted significant gains against a basket of currencies after the publication of an opinion poll by IPSOS Mori showed an 18% lead for the "Remain" camp.

With 55% likely to vote to stay in the EU compared to the 37% opting to leave, the pound clawed back recent losses, hitting the key psychological level of 1.3000 interbank (IB) versus the Euro – representing almost a 10 week high versus the single currency. 

We have also seen significant changes in the following currency pairs with the pound breaking through key levels.

The sensitivity that the pound currently has to the polls highlights the difficulty that investors face when trying to second guess the movement in exchange rates.

As we draw nearer to the Referendum we are likely to see increased volatility in all sterling crosses, so in order to stay ahead of the game, it is important that you speak to your dealer who will explain the options available to you.

Do you want more information ?

So if you need to buy or sell currency and would like to be kept up to date with all the latest data releases and exchange rate movements then feel free to contact myself Ben Amrany.

If you are buying or selling a house in France we will make sure your monies are in the right place at the right time, we work hand in hand with you, the notaire and Cle France.

For more information on the currency service I can provide please feel free to contact myself...

Ben Amrany from FC Exchange follow this link or phone and ask for myself and quote "Cle France" on 020 7989 0000.

You may contact me directly using this form (click here) with your requirement and I will explain the options that are available to you in getting the best exchange rate.

Blog submitted by: Ben Amrany for The French Property Network - Cle France.

For everything you need to know about French property visit www.clefrance.co.uk

Brexit vote may spark recession, Mark Carney warns

The Bank of England has given its starkest warning yet that a UK vote to leave the EU could hit the economy.

Mark Carney, the Bank's governor, warned that the risks of leaving "could possibly include a technical recession".

Prime Minister David Cameron said the warning amounted to "a very clear message" of the dangers of Brexit.

Vote Leave campaigners have strongly criticised Mr Carney, with one calling for him to resign.

However, a spokesman for Mr Carney rejected the call, saying the Bank had "a duty" to make its judgements known.

In case you missed the speech here is a snippet - 

The latest minutes from the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) said that a leave vote may cause both growth and sterling to fall and unemployment to rise.

Mr Carney said the Bank had not compiled formal forecasts about the possibility of a recession - defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth - resulting from a Brexit vote.

Chancellor George Osborne said the UK now had a "clear and unequivocal warning" from the MPC as well as the Governor of the Bank of England about the risks of a Leave vote,

"The Bank is saying that it would face a trade-off between stabilising inflation on one hand and stabilising output and employment on the other," he said.

"So either families would face lower incomes because inflation would be higher, or the economy would be weaker with a hit to jobs and livelihoods. This is a lose-lose situation for Britain. Either way, we'd be poorer."

Jacob Rees Mogg, a Tory MP and Treasury Select Committee member, called on Mr Carney to resign.

"I think it is unprecedented for the governor of a central bank to suggest that people should short his own currency. Suggesting sterling will fall sharply is simply not what responsible central bankers do," he said.

Do you want more information ?

So if you need to buy or sell sterling and would like to be kept up to date with all the latest data releases and exchange rate movements then feel free to contact myself Ben Amrany. If you are buying or selling a house in France we will make sure your monies are in the right place at the right time, we work hand in hand with you and Cle France.

For more information on the currency service I can provide please feel free to contact myself...

Ben Amrany from FC Exchange follow this link or phone and ask for myself and quote "Cle France" on 020 7989 0000.

You may contact me directly using this form (click here) with your requirement and I will explain the options that are available to you in getting the best exchange rate.

Blog reproduced in part from an article by Jamie Robertson, BBC Business reporter.

For everything you need to know about French property visit www.clefrance.co.uk

As June 23rd EU Referendum Looms

We are just five weeks away from one of the biggest UK political decisions in recent times.  

The "Brexit" and "Bremain" campaigns are well underway and has already been divisive – just look at the rhetoric from David Cameron and Boris Johnson.  

Analysis has been put forward by both sides claiming the population will be better off if we follow their lead.  

In reality, most economic arguments from one camp are contradicted by the opposing camp, making it very difficult to work out the reality.  

What is clear, is that debate is heating up, and with the controversial televised debates in early June, voters will have an increasing barrage of news flow, which could have a significant impact on the polls, and the pound.

What do the Polls say? 

The polls currently show a slight bias towards staying in EU, with volatility likely before 23rd June if this balance shifts as we saw in the run up to the Scottish referendum.  Even before the referendum, we could see moves between 1.41 and 1.48 against the US dollar, based on the five weeks before the Scottish referendum.

Forecasting what may happen

A wide range of post-referendum outcomes, has been put forward by economists and statisticians, including by our very own Bank of England governor, Mark Carney.  Their suggestion is that sterling is 9% weaker on a trade weighted basis as a result of the referendum uncertainty.  The suggestion is that we could see significant strength for the pound if the vote is to stay in the EU.  

Forecasts of what might happen if the UK votes ‘leave’ are wide ranging, but suggest we could see a 10-15% fall in the value of the pound.  Fitch’s report on Monday backed the political scaremongering with a worst case scenario of a 30% fall in the value of sterling on Brexit.

Potential Outcome of In / Out Result

These potential outcomes highlight the importance of making sure your business is ready no matter what the outcome is come 23 June 2016.

Scenario with USD 1 million versus sterling =

Scenario with EUR 1 million versus sterling =

To find out how this could affect you or to discuss how we can help...

Contact Us Today

We can provide rate certainty by locking into an exchange rate now in what could well be a turbulent time going forward.

So if you need to buy or sell sterling and would like to be kept up to date with all the latest data releases and exchange rate movements then feel free to contact myself Ben Amrany. If you are buying or selling a house in France we will make sure your monies are in the right place at the right time, we work hand in hand with you and Cle France.

For more information on the currency service I can provide please feel free to contact myself...

Ben Amrany from FC Exchange follow this link or phone and ask for myself and quote "Cle France" on 020 7989 0000.

You may contact me directly using this form (click here) with your requirement and I will explain the options that are available to you in getting the best exchange rate.

Blog submitted by: Ben Amrany for The French Property Network - Cle France.

For everything you need to know about French property visit www.clefrance.co.uk

The EU Referendum campaigns started today with David Cameron and Boris Johnson et-al touring the country to gain support for each side. Our blog pages have become a bit 'heavy' recently so we are trying to lighten the mood with our translation of the Eurovision song entry from France, watch it tonight and sing along!

It’s May, and for many Europeans, it’s the return of something very important. Non, je ne parle pas du soleil (no, I’m not talking about the sun), but Eurovision!

Not familiar with it? Basically, every participating country submits a singer and song to represent them. From there, the songs are performed in 2 semi-finals and a final, then the vote is decided via a jury and the public. You can read more about how that works on the post I wrote about France’s 2015 submission.

Last year, France picked Lisa Angell who performed “N’oubliez pas” Unfortunately, the song wasn’t very successful, garnering only 4 votes. Yikes.

France seems to have a pattern of doing a fun and catchy pop song one year followed by a slower song the next. “N’oubliez pas” was slow, so that means this year’s is fun and catchy! And it really is…

Cette année (This year), France chose 31-year-old Israeli-French singer/songwriter Amir to perform in the contest in Stockholm. “J’ai cherché” (I’ve Been Looking) was written by Amir, Nazim Khaled, and Johan Errami.

Here are the results after the semi-finals.

The following 10 countries qualified from semi-final 1:

Azerbaijan

Russia

The Netherlands

Hungary

Croatia

Austria

Armenia

Czech Republic

Cyprus

Malta

The following 10 countries qualified from semi-final 2:

Latvia

Georgia

Bulgaria

Australia

Ukraine

Serbia

Poland

Israel

Lithuania

Belgium

You may have noticed that France isn’t listed as a qualifier. As per the contest rules, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom, France, Spain, and the host country all perform in the final because they are the biggest monetary contributors in the contest.

Translation of the song into English

Want to hear this year’s entry? tune in tonight and the song already has some English in it, but the translation published below is courtesy of Eurovision’s official page.

J’ai cherché un sens à mon existence

I was looking for a sense in my existence

J’y ai laissé mon innocence

I have lost my innocence in doing so

J’ai fini le cœur sans défense

I finished my heart without defence

J’ai cherché

I was looking for

L’amour et la reconnaissance

Love and recognition

J’ai payé le prix du silence

I paid the price of silence

Je me blesse et recommence

I hurt myself to start again

Tu m’as comme donné l’envie d’être moi

You gave me like the need to be me

Donné un sens à mes pourquoi

Gave a sense to my whys

Tu as tué la peur

You killed the fear

Qui dormait là, qui dormait là

Sleeping there, sleeping there

Dans mes bras

In my arms

You-ou-ou-ou-ou

You’re the one that’s making me strong

I’ll be looking, looking for

You-ou-ou-ou-ou

Like the melody of my song

You-ou-ou-ou-ou

You’re the one that’s making me strong

I’ll be looking, looking for

You-ou-ou-ou-ou

Like the melody of my song

J’ai cherché un sens,

I was looking for a sense

un point de repère

A point of reference

Partagé en deux hémisphères

Divided into two hemispheres

Comme une erreur de l’univers

Like an error of the universe

J’ai jeté tellement de bouteilles à la mer

I threw so many bottles into the sea

J’ai bu tant de liqueurs amères

I drank so many bitter liqueurs

Que j’en ai les lèvres de pierre

That I got lips of stone from it

You-ou-ou-ou-ou

You’re the one that’s making me strong

I’ll be looking, looking for

You-ou-ou-ou-ou

Like the melody of my song

You-ou-ou-ou-ou

You’re the one that’s making me strong

I’ll be looking, looking for

You-ou-ou-ou-ou

Like the melody of my song

Au gré de nos blessures

According to our injuries

Et de nos désinvoltures

And to our casualness

C’est quand on n’y croit plus du tout

It’s when you don’t believe in at all,

Qu’on trouve un Paradis perdu

That you will find a paradise lost

En nous-ou-ou-ou-ou

Within u-u-us

Oh, you, you, you, you

You-ou-ou-ou-ou

You’re the one that’s making me strong

I’ll be looking, looking, looking for

You-ou-ou-ou-ou

Like the melody of my song

Like the melody of my song

Repeat x 2 and fade.

Everybody sing!

Blog submitted by: Alex at The French Property Network - Cle France.