As we get older, our travel preferences change. How a modest investment today could secure your ideal holidays – both now, and for the years to come…
Despite its 36,000 longstanding investors, and a track record spanning almost a quarter of a century, the Holiday Property Bond remains one of the travel industry’s best-kept secrets.
Addressing the restrictions inherent in traditional timeshare – and the legal and financial pitfalls of buying a second home – this unique investment vehicle pulls off an unusual trick, combining the benefits of shared ownership with the flexibility of property rental.
Because each Bondholder has a financial interest in the fund’s entire portfolio of cottages, villas and apartments, they are able to enjoy rent-free accommodation in 1,165 properties at 28 exclusive UK and European destinations – at times to suit them, for life.
And because the Bond is a valued asset, they can pass the associated holiday privileges on to their children and grandchildren, too.
The ‘Further Information’ (below) summarises how the Bond works and the benefits and risks of an investment.
Booking power
Holiday allocation is by means of an innovative system of Holiday Points: each £1 invested entitles the Bondholder to one Holiday Point a year. Those Points are renewed each year and adjusted to reflect property price changes – which means investors’ ‘holiday booking power’ is protected in perpetuity.
Nicholas Beamish, Operations Director of the HPB Management company, explains, “Holiday Points are reviewed up to twice a year, based on an independent valuer’s view of the property market. They are then increased or decreased to reflect the cost of providing additional properties for new investors.”
“This provides a useful hedge against inflation, ensuring that the value of Bondholders’ holiday entitlements is maintained.”
Diversity
The key to the Bond’s success is, without doubt, its vast range of destinations and property types. In addition to more conventional seaside sites, the Bond owns a chateau, country houses, a medieval hall, a hamlet in The Dordogne, and an ancient palazzo in Tuscany.
There are Bond homes throughout the UK and in Portugal, Spain, France, Austria, Italy, Turkey, Madeira, Majorca and The Canaries.
Three further resorts – in the Lake District, Shropshire and Almeria, Spain – are scheduled to open within the next three years. Bondholders also benefit from Points-free access to a further 300 privately owned villas, in 45 locations – including South Africa and North America – where HPB arranges preferential terms for its investors.
“The choice of location is far from opportunistic,” explains Nick Beamish. “In fact, it’s driven by the Bondholders themselves. They help us to shape how the portfolio is developed – voting, for the areas into which they’d most like us to expand. In this way, we ensure each new site reflects their preferences.”
“This goes some way to explaining why our investors have remained with us for so long – in many cases, for over two decades.”
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Judy Almond, herself a Bondholder for over 20 years, echoes Nicholas Beamish’s sentiments. She says, “The real bonus for me has not just been the vast increase in properties available, but the knowledge that if I book an HPB property it will be of a certain high standard, both in the equipment, the furnishing and in the cleanliness.”
That consistency of accommodation is equally important to Andrew and Rose Gowans. The couple invested in the Bond in 1989. Rose says, “HPB represents everything that is good about choosing a holiday destination: you know the quality is going to be there even before you arrive.”
Each site provides a comprehensively stocked, and free-to-use, film and book library and, usually, a swimming pool, sauna, tennis court, snooker room and children’s play area. Many also offer pitch-and-putt, bowling greens and croquet lawns. Two have 18-hole country standard gold courses. One has its own fishing lake.
There’s even an HPB salmon fishing beat in Blairgowrie, in the heart of Scotland.
Steady growth
HPB has devoted considerable resources to meeting the needs of wheelchair users. Its success in this respect is reflected in the patronage of the Royal Air Force and Dependants Disabled Holiday Trust, which was set up in 1981 to provide “much-needed morale-boosting holidays in convivial surroundings”.
The Trust’s Ros Hall says, “The Holiday Property Bond provides well thought out and highly accessible accommodation, equipped to the right specification. And it allows us to draw on our Holiday Points benefits year after year, rather than spending capital on buying holidays.”
Safeguards
The Bond management team’s confidence in delivering high quality holiday benefits is reflected in a unique ‘Holiday Satisfaction Guaranteed’ offer. This allows new investors to apply to cash-in their Bonds for their then value (which may have gone up or down), and receive a full refund of their initial charges, within 14 days of taking their first holiday at a Bond owned property (anytime within the first three years), if they are not completely satisfied.
Privileges
The minimum initial investment into a Holiday Property Bond is £4,000 – little more than the cost of a single holiday for many families. Bondholders have the option to increase that investment – and thus, their annual Points entitlement – at any future date.
To maximise occupancy, short notice breaks are promoted regularly – which are made available to Bondholders on a Points-free basis. Bondholders who are unable to utilise their Points in any given period are able to pass their entitlement to their family, friends and colleagues.
In addition, a comprehensive programme of special interest Theme Weeks are arranged at Bond locations, ranging from Painting in Tuscany and Golfing on the Algarve, to Bird watching in Majorca and Cookery in France.
Of course, organised affairs such as these do not suit everyone. They do, however, highlight the sheer diversity of holiday opportunities available to Bondholders.
Nicholas Beamish says, “Younger holidaymakers prefer to do their own thing – taking advantage of more family-friendly ‘activity-oriented’ resorts like Encosta Cabo Girão on Madeira, and La Reserva de Biniorella – our country club development in the fashionable southwest corner of Majorca.”
“Other Bondholders prefer more sedate holidays in the UK – at Buckland, in The Cotswolds, for instance; or St Bride’s Castle, in Pembrokeshire.”
“At the outset, our goal was to develop a holiday product with wide-ranging ‘lifetime’ appeal. In developing such varied – yet unashamedly exclusive – sites, we feel we’re able to offer something for everyone, at every stage of their lives.”
For more information on the Holiday Property Bond and to browse the Bond’s property portfolio online please click here…
Further Information: The Bond is a life assurance bond investing, after initial charges, in properties and securities. Properties are booked for a no profit ‘user charge’ and Points issued with the Bond. There is a quarterly fee of around twenty-five pounds including VAT linked to RPI, with all other management fees paid from securities. Investment is from £4,000. Encashment may be made under the terms of the ‘Holiday Satisfaction Guaranteed’ offer outlined in the article. Otherwise you may encash after two years at a value linked to that of the properties and securities but you may not see a profit and may incur a loss because of initial charges and fluctuations in asset values. In exceptional circumstances encashment may be deferred for up to twelve months. No medical examination required.
This advertisement is issued by HPB Management Limited (’HPBM’) of HPB House, Newmarket, Suffolk CB8 8EH. HPBM are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority and are the main UK agent for Holiday Property Bond (’HPB’), issued by HPB Assurance Limited (’HPBA’) registered in the Isle of Man and authorised by the Insurance and Pensions Authority there. Holders of policies issued by the company will not be protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme if the company becomes unable to meet its liabilities to them but Isle of Man compensation arrangements apply to new policies.
The Trustee of HPB is HSBC Trustee (Isle of Man) Limited registered at 3rd floor, Belgravia House, Circular Road, Douglas, Isle of Man IM1 1AE. The Securities Manager is Morgan Stanley & Co. International Limited registered at 25 Cabot Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 4QA. The Property Manager is HPB Management (International) Limited (’HPBMI’) registered at Ground Floor, Neptune House, Marina Bay, PO Box 67, Gibraltar.
HPBM, HPBA and HPBMI are part of the HPB Marketing Group and are not independent of each other. HPBM is able to advise only on HPBA’s products.
HPB Management Ltd. Registered in England, No.1581593. Registered Office HPB House, Newmarket, Suffolk, CB8 8EH.
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