“My grandchildren are the next generation of Bondholders!”

By Holiday Property Bond Feb 13, 2024

HPB Bondholders come from all walks of life, and not all of them discover the Bond by conventional means! So it was for the Hoet family…

Pharmaceutical consultant Patrick, wife Marie-Eve and children Jerome (then 15) and Sara (13) were on a cycling holiday in Brittany in the late 1980s when they stumbled upon the Bond’s Breton home.

“There we were, pedalling along merrily,” recalls Patrick, “when Jerome’s bike effectively broke down outside a smallish, but very beautiful, château. In need of some assistance, we decided to knock on the door.”

That door happened to be the entrance to Le Manoir du Hilguy, an 18th century chateau in one of the most picturesque corners of Brittany and a gem in the HPB crown. “The location was nice, and the site superb,” Patrick says. “I got talking to various people while the bike was being fixed – Bondholders, site management – and came away with some information. The idea planted in my head that this ‘Bond’ might be good for the Hoet family. We continued our holiday but when we got home, I investigated HPB in more depth and was impressed.”

Since becoming Bondholders in 1990, Patrick and Marie-Eve have enjoyed numerous Bond holidays at Hilguy (of course); Constant, in France’s Dordogne region; Le Mont de St Siméon in Île de France, just an hour’s drive from Paris; and Stigliano in Tuscany, the Hoets’ favourite site. “It’s a fantastic location, so handy for Florence, Siena and the Chianti region,” Patrick says. “And to stay in such a venerable palazzo – some parts of Stigliano are 800 years old – is a real privilege.”

The family has also holidayed at La Reserva de Biniorella, in Majorca; El Pueblito de Alfaix in southern Spain; El Balcón de Santa Ana in La Gomera, the second-smallest Canary Island; Viehhofen in Austria; Rocha Brava, in Portugal’s Algarve; and Encosta Cabo Girão in Madeira. To date, however, Marie-Eve and Patrick have stayed at just one UK location: Tigh Mor Trossachs in Perthshire. “We like walking, and sightseeing; and it’s a majestic site, in a beautiful location, with many surrounding attractions,” says Patrick. “And I’m aware that there are other HPB treasures to be found across the UK, but the continental sites are what attract me more. That said, Jerome had a holiday at Sibton Park, HPB’s Kentish home, on our Bond – and came back full of praise. So in the future: who knows?”

Talking of the future… At the time of writing the Hoets were looking forward to a return trip to Constant in a fortnight’s time, followed by another stay at Stigliano. But when we caught up with Patrick at (appropriately enough) Hilguy, he had a different kind of future in mind. Holidaying with granddaughters Zoë and Elise (Sara’s daughters), the proud grandfather was happy enough to talk, but proved a reluctant photo subject!

“Don’t take photos of me, take them of my grandchildren!” he (sort-of) protested. “For us and for HPB, they’re the next generation.”

REQUEST A BROCHURE

Exclusive holidays for life: An initial payment from £5,000 and a quarterly fee of under £38 (that is around £150 a year), which can increase in line with but not exceed the Retail Price Index Excluding Mortgage Interest (RPIX), gives you access to all HPB’s holiday homes. For each HPB holiday, you will pay a no-profit user charge covering only property running and maintenance costs and use of on-site facilities. The average charge is the same throughout the year, and for a studio is around £360 a week and £540 for a two bedroom property. Larger properties are also available. After an initial charge of 25% your money is invested in a fund of holiday properties and securities. The fund itself meets annual charges of 2.5% of its net assets at cost, calculated monthly. Your investment return is purely in the form of holidays and, as with most investments, your capital is at risk. You can surrender your investment to the company after two years or more (subject to deferral in exceptional circumstances) but you will get back less than you invested because of the charges referred to above, as well as other overheads and changes in the value of the fund’s properties and securities.

This advertisement is issued by HPB Management Limited (HPBM), the main UK agent and the property manager for HPB, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, registered at HPB House, Newmarket, Suffolk, CB8 8EH. HPB is available exclusively through HPBM. HPB is issued by HPB Assurance Limited (HPBA) registered in the Isle of Man and authorised by the Financial Services Authority there. HPBM promotes only HPB and is not independent of HPBA. Holders of policies issued by HPBA 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.