Hideaways Club scouting top properties in Singapore

High-end property fund The Hideaways Clubs is in Singapore checking out top apartments for a new timeshare portfolio called The Hideaways Club – City Collection, the Today newspaper has reported.

Founder Mike Balfour was personally in town last week, checking out a range of luxury properties and apparently had his eye on a few choice units. Balfour said he is looking for high-end properties that offer great value for money rather than simply having luxury branding, so he will probably not select units from the Ritz-Carlton Residences or the Orchard Residences.

“If these homes have a brand-name to it, they usually command a premium. And we would like to maintain our profit margins,” he said.

25 to 30 per cent of the City Colections will be located in Aisa, Balfour said, and he plans to make Asia a key source of revenue.

“Other major cities we are looking at are Kuala Lumpur and Hanoi,” he added.

Balfour, who founded gym chain Fitness First, hopes to replicate the success of his first fund called The Hideaways Club Classic Collection. Launched in 2007, the Classic Collection comprises 50 villas in holiday destinations all over the world, with each 2,700-sq-ft villa costing an average of US$1.6 million. It was started to offer investors another way to enjoy a luxury holiday, without owning an actual holiday home and doing away with the hassle of maintenance. 

The fund offers members an equity share in the property portfolio, which has a current membership of more than 200 members. It is now the largest luxury timeshare club in Europe and Mr Balfour is targeting a maximum of 600 members and 100 properties for the fund in the next four years.

For The City Collection, each member invests a lump sum of US$195,000 and pays an annual maintenance, taxes and concierge fees of US$18,500. Each member gets about 12 to 23 nights of holiday stay a year in one of the fund’s apartments. This would otherwise cost the member between US$1.2 million to US$3 million a year, said Mr Balfour.

In addition to savings, the investor reaps 5 to 6 per cent of capital appreciation from the luxury apartment portfolio annually. Mr Balfour said he is targeting 120 city apartments in the next three years for The City Collection. Each apartment is sized between 1,500 and 3,000 sq ft, and are typically two-bedroom and two-bathroom units in the city centre in major cities across the world.