House Sitters Bag Top Properties On Cheap

By Gemma Morris, Sky News Reporter

More and more young professionals, who cannot afford to get on the housing ladder, are bagging themselves plush temporary accommodation for very little money under "guardian schemes".

Becoming a guardian is a bit like glorified house sitting - often in grand and eccentric properties that would otherwise be left standing empty.

It saves the property owners from forking out on security costs and also keeps squatters at bay.

At the same time, the guardians get to live in buildings they could otherwise only dream of - while paying monthly fees which can sometimes be as low as 20% of the market rental rate.

One of the properties on offer to guardians from Ad Hoc Property Management

Robyn Winfield-Smith is a theatre director who lives in a 10,000 sq ft building in the heart of London's West End.

Her bedroom is a spacious former dance studio.

She says being a guardian works for her and her housemates because they cannot afford typical rents in the capital.

"This enables us to stay within the careers that we want whilst living very cheaply."

Recent figures from LSL Property Services put the average monthly rent in England and Wales at £745 per month.

In London, it's £1,124.

This home in Hampstead Heath is offered as planning permission is obtained

Guardian schemes are only ever temporary, usually for a few months or years, and tend to be while the building owners await planning permission.

But Robyn enjoys the constant change.

"You can bring along all your furniture and create a brand new home every time you move ... Some of the buildings we've had have been extraordinary."

Properties managed by guardian companies include churches, pubs and other commercial buildings as well as privately owned more "normal" looking flats and houses.

Robyn Winfield-Smith enters her London dance studio home

Arthur Duke, managing director of Live-In Guardians, said the number of young professionals applying to be guardians in the past 18 months has grown.

"One of the attractions is the fact that they pay at least 50% of the going market rental which is all inclusive so there's no bills on top and no council tax either.

"We used to get around 8-10 on line applications a day, whereas now we are getting around 15-20."

Critics though warn it is not a solution to the housing crisis.

Antonia Bance, from Shelter, said: "We'd urge caution, [there are] very few tenancy rights attached to property guardianship schemes. If we're looking to solve our housing crisis the thing that we need to do is build more affordable homes."

Robyn admits there are some downsides too, but she is not put off.

"You're not allowed pets, not allowed smoking, and not allowed to have more than two people for longer than three hours  - that's the kind of general rule on guests. But that's fine because what we're getting in exchange is this amazing environment to live in."

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Lidl Supermarket Chain Creates 2,500 Jobs

German supermarket chain Lidl is creating 2,500 jobs as part of a £220m expansion programme in the UK.

The company says it will boost the number of stores from 600 to 620 in the next nine months.

It is recruiting across the board, including store roles, depot staff and positions at its Wimbledon HQ.

The chain says it is also filling specialist positions such as bakery managers and freshness coordinators.

The expansion follows four years of growth in sales and profitability for Lidl in the UK. 

Morrisons has confirmed plans for 2,600 job cuts

Turnover was £3.3bn in 2013 and sales have increased by 20% over the past 12 months.

That has helped to grow market share to a record 3.6% in June, up from 3% in 2013.

The jobs boost contrasts with the 2,600 redundancies recently announced by Morrisons. 

This latest round of investment comes on the back of a £170m investment in 2013, comprising 12 new stores and 3,500 new staff.

The supermarket has also significantly increased the amount of space allocated to fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, poultry and fresh fish.

Ronny Gottschlich, Lidl UK's managing director, said: "This latest phase in our growth is a testament to the continuing success of Lidl in the UK.

"People all over the country are realising they can make huge savings on their weekly grocery shop with us, without compromising on quality."

Chancellor George Osborne said: "It's great news that Lidl is investing in thousands of new jobs across the UK - each job means security and a better future for another family and the country as a whole."

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888poker Cancels Suarez Sponsorship Deal

Luis Suarez: A Huge Talent But Trouble

Updated: 6:06am UK, Friday 27 June 2014

By Paul Kelso, Sports Correspondent, in Rio de Janeiro

To his countrymen, Luis Suarez is an unambiguous character.

He is the boy from an impoverished quarter of Salto who became a hero; a natural who plays with the ferocious pride and raw spirit that embodies the national self-image.

You do not have to be Uruguayan to admire his luminous talent. Watching him score the goals that eliminated England in Sao Paulo last week it was impossible not to admire the certainty of his play, the single-minded ability not just to try but to deliver.

But it is equally hard to ignore his recidivist, violent streak, and nor should we try.

Uruguay has rushed to his defence this week, but none of the conspiracies or indulgences offered by his countrymen can sweeten Suarez's offences.

Three times on a professional football field he has bitten an opponent. It is conduct we train out of pets and children, assuming that adult humans do not need to be reminded.

Who knows where it comes from. An army of experts have had their say in the last few days, offering explanations ranging from the Freudian to the footballing.

For everyone, save Suarez, the answer is largely irrelevant. What matters for his club and country is what happens next.

For Liverpool it is a pressing question. The club and its fans love Suarez but they have good reason to feel let down.

They backed him ham-fistedly through the Patrice Evra racism storm, and then with far more assurance and self-awareness following his assault on Branislav Ivanovic.

Last season they seemed to get a return on that pastoral care. Suarez was focused and fabulous, his goals fully deserving a clean sweep of player of the year awards from his fellow pros and the journalists his teammates now accuse of conspiring, and supporters groups.

Anfield fully expected to return to the barricades for Suarez this summer, but they anticipated the attack would come from Real Madrid and Barcelona, once more hunting his signature.

Instead, they will welcome back a player who will not be available until November and will attract only negative vibes in the meantime. Restoring trust on both sides will be a major challenge for manager Brendan Rogers.

There is perhaps only one group for whom Suarez's inexplicable conduct is good news.

It is not often that Fifa has been able to scale the moral high-ground in recent times but the swift, decisive judgment against Suarez offered them a chance they were not going to miss.

Fifa president Sepp Blatter resisted repeated invitations from Sky News to offer a word on Suarez's ban but the message of his silence was clear. The World Cup show has been a wow. Presented with a pantomime villain Fifa banished him to the wings.

For once, few will argue it was the right move.

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Bitcoin Extortion Plot Targets Pizza Restaurants

Businesses are being served with 'notice of extortion' letters demanding bitcoins to avoid negative online reviews.

A number of US pizza restaurants have reported receiving the printed letters, which include a number of threats for non-payment of the demand.

As well as negative reviews on Yelp.com, the culprit threatens to carry out denial of service attacks on telephone lines and cause mercury contamination of food.

The letter reads: "Because many of the actions we take are catastrophic and irreversible, it is advised (to) pay ... before the deadline is reached."

Some of the threats were posted by business owners to the website Reddit.

Users suggested the attackers could be traced using a technique which makes it possible to identify the make and model of printer used to create the document.

The letters demand payment of one bitcoin, worth £339, within a month, after which the demand rises to three bitcoins.

In Grand Rapids, Michigan, pizza store owner Mike Raymond received a letter but refused to pay up.

He said: "At first, I'm looking at it and I'm thinking, 'Oh, it's one of my friends playing a joke on me.'"

When he realised it was a real threat, he decided not to pay.

"There are food costs and finance, labour and the rising cost of gas," he said.

"Do you really need to have somebody now threatening you with extortion?

"They're taking your lunch money and we're not going to let them."

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YouTube Adds 'Tip Jar' To Reward Video Creators

Every video uploaded to YouTube could one day be translated into every language - one of a range of new features announced by the firm's chief executive.

Susan Wojcicki announced a project called Fan Subtitles, a massive crowdsourced translation effort that encourages bilingual users to type subtitles for their favourite videos.

Speaking at the Vidcon conference, she also announced the launch of a 'tip jar' for content creators, so viewers could easily "show a creator their love" by tipping any amount up to $500 (£293).

Users will also get interactive cards to overlay on videos that directly link to their Indiegogo or Kickstarter fundraising efforts.

Other new features include an option to play videos at up to 60 frames per second, which is likely to prove popular with users who stream computer games.

In a blog post, the company said: "Your video game footage with crazy high frame rates will soon look as awesome on YouTube as it does when you're playing, when we launch support for 48 and even 60 frames per second in the coming months."

The 100 most popular games channels on YouTube generated nearly 3.5 billion video views in May.

Content creators will also get access to real-time video metrics, an announcement that drew cheers from the crowd.

YouTube said the features will be made available in the coming months.

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Bulgaria Warning Over 'Organised Bank Attack'

Bulgaria's central bank has issued an unprecedented warning over an attempt to destabilise the country through an organised attack on the banking system.

It promised to do all it could to protect money held in accounts by Bulgarian citizens.

The bank issued a request for all state institutions to work collectively to protect financial stability.

It said legal action should be taken against those spreading "untrue and ill-intentioned rumours" about the health of the nation's banks.

The bank said in a statement: "In recent days there has been an attempt to destabilise the state through an organised attack against Bulgarian banks without any reason."

It added that the First Investment Bank had been a major target.

Shares in the bank on Friday morning were down a fifth, and the plunge came on top of a similar drop on Thursday.

A representative for First Investment Bank reassured investors and said it was in "excellent condition".

Last week, customers unnerved by reports of shady deals involving Corporate Commercial Bank - known as KTB - rushed to withdraw their deposits.

The run prompted the central bank to seize control of the lender and shut down its operations.

KTB, the country's fourth biggest bank, suffered a 20% drain on funds over six days and highlighted financial fragility in newer EU member states.

Tycoon Tzvetan Vassilev blamed media attacks and the country's prosecution service for sparking the run on his bank, which shareholders decided against rescuing.

It is now likely to be nationalised.

The ratio of non-performing loans in Bulgaria is expected to top 18% this year, as the economy continues to wallow from risky credit issued during a mid-2000 boom.

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Morrisons Close To Clinching Kiddicare Sale

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

The supermarket group Wm Morrison is closing in on the cut-price sale of a baby goods retailer it acquired three years ago after labelling the acquisition an expensive "mistake".

Sky News understands that advisers to Morrisons have narrowed the field of bidders for Kiddicare down to two parties: Better Capital, the firm headed by Jon Moulton, the City financier; and Endless, a specialist restructuring outfit.

Better Capital and Endless were due to table final offers for Kiddicare on Friday, according to sources close to the process, with an announcement about the winning bidder possible as soon as next week.

A sale would bring to an end an unhappy period of ownership for Kiddicare, which was put up for sale in March after Morrisons took a £163m impairment charge on the maternity wear specialist. Bankers at Rothschild are running the auction.

City sources say that Morrisons, which has been hit by weak trading in its core business, is likely to have to pay a substantial dowry to the successful bidder.

One insider said on Friday, however, that that was not yet a definitive position and that the structure of any eventual deal remained unclear.

The sale could include all 10 of the stores operating under the Kiddicare name, or could involve the closure of some of the sites prior to a deal being completed, insiders said.

Morrisons bought Kiddicare for £70m in 2011, arguing that the online business would aid its own transition to becoming a multi-channel retailer.

It then acquired 10 failed former Best Buy electrical goods stores set up as part of a joint venture with Carphone Warehouse.

The supermarket chain received a £40m payment from Carphone because of the stores' onerous rent obligations, but the shops have struggled, while Morrisons' subsequent technology agreement with Ocado has rendered the use of Kiddicare's systems redundant.

Dalton Philips, Morrisons chief executive, is well-regarded but came under pressure at the company's annual meeting this month when its former chairman, Sir Ken Morrison, questioned directors' competence.

Morrisons has also announced 2,600 job cuts in recent weeks as it tries to simplify store management, in contrast to plans by rivals such as Lidl, which is recruiting another 2500 staff to accelerate its expansion.

On Friday, Tesco, which has also been affected by declining sales, held its annual meeting in London, although none of its former executives turned up to criticise the current board.

Morrisons and Better Capital declined to comment, while Endless could not be reached.

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Fake Letters: Wonga May Face Criminal Probe

City of London Police have confirmed they are to look again at whether the payday lender Wonga should face a criminal investigation.

This week the firm agreed to pay £2.6m in compensation to 45,000 customers after it was found to have sent letters from two fake law firms.

The letters were to pressure people in arrears into paying up.

They threatened legal action and gave the impressionthat  outstanding loans had been passed to debt recovery firms.

The police force discussed the case a year ago but decided at the time it should be left to regulators.

However, now a compensation deal has been reached between Wonga and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), officers will "be reassessing whether a criminal investigation is appropriate".

Meanwhile, the industry body representing solicitors has urged the Metropolitan Police to launch an investigation into Wonga.

The Law Society has asked Scotland Yard to determine if the fake legal letters amounted to blackmail or deception, and called on the regulator to hand over documents it holds on Wonga.

The FCA confirmed that the Society, which represents around 160,000 solicitors across England and Wales, had been in contact.

Law Society chief executive Desmond Hudson said: "It seems that the intention behind Wonga's dishonest activity was to make customers believe that their outstanding debt had been passed to a genuine law firm.

"It looks like they also wanted customers to believe that court action undertaken by a genuine law firm would follow if the debt was not repaid.

"Depending on the precise circumstances of what has happened, that could amount to blackmail and deception, as well as offences under the Solicitors Act 1974 and Legal Services Act 2007."

Wonga is Britain's biggest payday lending firm, and has since apologised for its action between October 2008 and November 2010.

The short-term consumer credit sector has come under increased regulatory scrutiny over business practices and potential four-digit interest rates.

The Wonga action has been described by consumer campaigners as a "shocking new low" for the payday industry.

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Lloyds Snubs Goldman Offer For Buyout Arm

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

The private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group has snubbed a secret takeover offer for part of its business from Goldman Sachs, prompting the departure of one of its top executives.

Sky News has learnt that a division of Goldman, the Wall Street giant, recently proposed buying the London operation of Lloyds Development Capital (LDC), which owns stakes in companies including Uswitch, the price comparison website, and Fever Tree, a soft drinks producer.

Sources said on Friday that Goldman had been keen to take over some of LDC's investments as well as some senior executives, including Daniel Sasaki, the firm's London managing director.

The approach is said to have exposed tensions between Mr Sasaki and colleagues in LDC's network of regional offices.

LDC rejected Goldman's interest, and Mr Sasaki is understood to have left in its immediate aftermath.

Mr Sasaki had been dismissed after LDC alleged that he had been guilty of "a breakdown of confidence and trust", according to a person familiar with a letter sent to him.

Mr Sasaki's spokesman denied that suggestion.

Lloyds' continued involvement in the private equity business through LDC has at times been controversial since its taxpayer bailout in 2009.

Some rivals have alleged that LDC has been able to enrich senior executives by investing in companies with an unfair advantage of financial support from the Government.

Lloyds is now 25%-owned by the Government following two stake sales during the last year.

A spokesman for Mr Sasaki said he had acted properly at all times.

"(His) success generated external interest in the London part of the business which in turn led to [his] departure," he said. "Daniel Sasaki... behaved with utmost propriety at all times and there is no dispute regarding his departure.

"(Mr) Sasaki is now reviewing all options open to him and has already been approached by competitors of LDC London to replicate the success he achieved within LDC."

There is no ongoing legal dispute between Mr Sasaki and LDC, a source said, while Goldman is not pursuing its interest in the business.

A spokesman for Lloyds said it would not comment on individual employees but denied that it had any interest in offloading LDC.

"LDC is a core part of Lloyds Banking Group's support for SME and mid-market companies and it has a consistent track record of private equity investments in UK SMEs and the mid-market, having invested more than £1.5bn over the last five years to support ambitious businesses' growth," he said.

The Lloyds private equity unit, which also backs companies such as the retailer Joules and Imagine Nation, a media content producer, was one of Europe's most prolific investors last year, investing in 26 businesses.

Darryl Eales, LDC's chief executive, resigned before the Goldman approach, sources said.

Mr Eales has since been replaced by two executives from LDC's Birmingham office, which led Mr Sasaki to conclude that a buyout of the London operation could be in the interests of the firm, a source close to Mr Sasaki said.

Goldman Sachs declined to comment.

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Dairy Crest Milks Fast-Growing Chinese Market

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

One of Britain's biggest dairy producers is on the verge of a deal to exploit vast Chinese demand for baby-milk formula by exporting whey produced at a factory in Cornwall.

Sky News has learnt that Dairy Crest Group, whose biggest-selling brands include Cathedral City cheese and Clover butter, is poised to sign an agreement with Fonterra, a New Zealand-based company, to give it a crucial foothold in the world's largest country by population.

The strategic partnership between the two companies could be announced as soon as next week, according to people close to the talks.

It will potentially be of enormous significance for Dairy Crest, which has a market capitalisation of just over £630m.

Mark Allen, its chief executive, has said for some time that he wants to diversify its revenue base by expanding internationally and into new areas.

The alliance with Fonterra, which is expected to involve a profit-sharing agreement, will involve Dairy Crest removing minerals from whey produced at its creamery in Davidstow in Cornwall.

The demineralised whey will be sold to Fonterra, which will then use it to create infant milk formula for the Chinese and other markets.

Whey is the liquid produced during the manufacturing of cheese, and is an essential ingredient in baby milk formula.

Demand for baby milk powder in China has soared as hundreds of millions of people enter the country's middle classes and become wealthy enough to afford a product which until recently was seen as an expensive luxury.

Foreign brands usually sell at a significant premium to domestic Chinese names because of a widespread perception that they are of higher quality.

Dairy Crest's decision to go into business with Fonterra nevertheless comes at an awkward time for the New Zealand-based group, which describes itself as the world's leading milk processor and dairy exporter.

Last year, a food scare involving Fonterra's baby milk powder was found to contain whey protein contaminated with bacteria that can cause botulism, a dangerous form of food poisoning.

The company apologised for the lapse, but China's Food and Drug Administration said it would intensify its monitoring of production standards and punish companies found not to be adhering to guidelines.

Last week, New Zealand's High Court in Auckland heard evidence in a case in which Danone, the French food giant, is suing Fonterra for allegedly misleading it during the botulism scandal.

Fonterra was also fined along with a handful of other groups for colluding to fix milk prices in China last year.

If its partnership with Fonterra is successful, it would give Dairy Crest a significant boost as it attempts to reduce the proportion of its sales derived from the low-margin liquid milk sector in the UK.

Like rivals, it has been caught in an intense price war among major grocers, with deep discounters such as Aldi and Lidl making substantial market share gains from the likes of Tesco and Wm Morrison.

Dairy Crest has committed to a £45m investment in its Cornish plant to pave the way for the planned increase in whey production from next year.

It said last September that annual profits could increase by £5m as a consequence of the investment.

The company declined to comment on Saturday

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