Place to hide away investment capital

Hideaways members get the right to use the club's luxury properties located around the world.

Combine a fractional property deal with an investment fund and you get the Hideaways Club, a twist on shared ownership schemes.

Hideways is an investment club for luxury property. Members pay between £132,500 (Dh793,900) and £250,000 to join, plus annual fees ranging from £7,000 to £14,000.

Members get the right to use the club's luxury properties located around the world and the homes are commonly used for entertaining clients as well as private holidays.

But this is not a time share or typical destination club, says Mike Balfour, the club's founder. The club also operates as a luxury property fund, with members as shareholders. "Members actually own all the real estate," Mr Balfour says.

Hideaways is three years old and there are only a few competitors offering equity funds, including Rocksure, which was founded in 2005. The concept offers several advantages over traditional shared-ownership plans, says Mr Balfour. For one, the fund's value has the potential to appreciate as the value of the property rises. And shares can be sold or transferred.

There is also a limit on the number of members in each fund. Members can also use a variety of properties without the hassles of maintaining them.

"When you look at other models they are all usage models, not ownership models," says Mr Balfour, who is best known for launching the Fitness First health club chain.

On the downside, the value of the property can decline, as investors in several US clubs with similar models learnt during the property crash there.

Currently there are 230 members and about 30 properties in Europe, Asia and Africa in Hideaways's "classic" fund. The company recently launched a "city collection" featuring luxury apartments in big cities from New York to Barcelona.

The club has only six members in the Middle East and no properties in the region, says Mr Balfour.

Shared ownership of any variety is still a novel concept in the region.