Journeys of discovery

By Holiday Property Bond Jul 15, 2024

“Like many I’m sure, Jane and I wish we’d become Bondholders earlier. But for us it’s not regret at lost holiday opportunities, so much as realising how much of what was ‘on our doorstep’ was undiscovered – by us, anyway. Everywhere we go with HPB is a revelation of just what’s out there to enjoy.” – David Phipps

David Phipps and wife Jane live in Bexley, Kent. The couple, in their 60s, are retired: David from a career in the City, Jane from administrative roles in various institutions. The Phippses became Bondholders 12 years ago.

“I’d been retired about three years by then,” David recalls, “and we were both looking for something a bit different. We’d been holidaying in New England year after year – a lovely part of the world, but after a while you need a change, don’t you? An HPB leaflet fell out of a magazine, we read it, and we liked the idea of having access to a growing variety of locations, in the UK and overseas. We took a Private Tour at Sibton Park, the nearest HPB site to our home, liked what we saw, and that was it: sold.”

“What we particularly liked was the Pointsfree element of HPB,” adds Jane, “the fact that, if you can holiday at relatively short notice, you can do so without using any of your Holiday Points, particularly in the less busy seasons. As retirees, with time to spare and few demands on it, we could well see ourselves taking advantage of short-notice Points-free holiday opportunities.”

“And so it has proved,” says David. “To date we’ve enjoyed about 30-plus HPB holidays (five in the first year, and some three a year since), and 18 of them have been Points-free. But it’s the fact that the Bond has taken us to places we’ve never been before, and really never even thought of visiting, that’s been the real, unexpected, benefit. We’ve enjoyed holidays at all three of HPB’s French sites: Le Manoir du Hilguy in Brittany, Constant in the Dordogne and Le Mont de Saint Siméon in Île de France; Lower Knapp Farm in Devon; Encosta Cabo Girão in Madeira; Tigh Mor Trossachs in Perthshire; Duloe Manor in Cornwall; El Pueblito de Alfaix in Andalucia; St Brides Castle in Pembrokeshire; Blore Hall in Derbyshire; Barnham Broom in Norfolk and Henllys in Anglesey, both great for golf (I’m a keen golfer); La Reserva de Biniorella in Majorca – our first HPB holiday location and very much a favourite; and Buckland Court in the Cotswolds [where these pictures were taken].”

Any other locations on the wishlist?

“Well obviously, yes – as HPB keeps developing sites, we look at each other and go: hmmm, that looks interesting… But in the short to medium term, we’d love to check out the Italian ones. Stigliano in Tuscany, or the trulli in Coreggia – no particular preference; but one of our granddaughters is keen to go to Italy, and we’d love to be the ones to make that happen. That – or those – aside, we seem to be gravitating more towards the UK sites. Whether that’s to do with age, or less-than favourable exchange rates (though those go up and down) or the fact that air travel is not the fun it used to be – who knows? Probably a mixture of all three, plus something else besides. But there’s so much to discover and enjoy right here in Britain, I can’t say we’re feeling much of a loss.”

Jane and David have a daughter, Nicola, with three daughters of her own. “Nicola uses our Bond, independently of us,” says Jane. “She and her partner and the girls have been to Lower Knapp, Biniorella and St Siméon – and I’m sure there will be more; though Nicola works in education, and is thus tied in to school holidays. Makes booking a little more of a challenge…”

“…but by no means impossible,” interjects David. “And Nicola will inherit our Bond, when the time comes. But right now, this is our time – there is so much more out there: to see, to do, to discover and to savour.”

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Compliance:

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.

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