Date: Dec 11th 2008 - Publication:"The FT" -  Title: "Luxury Property Funds"  Author: David Stevenson

David Stevenson: Luxury property funds
By David Stevenson
Published: December 11 2008 10:11 | Last updated: December 11 2008 10:11

“Maybe professional investors do listen to journalists - that’s the radical conclusion I reached this week after hearing that property company Rocksure is launching a new shared ownership luxury property fund.
Called the Capital Fund, its the third iteration of their novel and quite impressive product range that centres on offering shares in the ownership of a portfolio of properties around the world - called fractional ownership in the trade.
Earlier this year in my weekend column I looked at Rocksure’s second fund (the Bravo fund) and lauded its simple approach - you buy a share in a fund holding six or more properties , giving you upside in the property syndicate value and some usage, all with no leverage.
It’s not exactly the cheapest investment structure I’ve ever encountered - the management company take a slice of the uplift in property values above a 20 per cent barrier plus an annual management charge - but it seems small and friendly and well run without being too glitzy.
My only worry at the time was that the asking price for one share was rather high at over £150,000 and that surely there must be a model that offers poorer types the chance to take part.

Rocksure seemed to have listened – of course they may have had the idea anyway and I only confirmed their market research – and are due to launch the Capital Fund in January with a very novel approach.
Out go the big, expensive villas with large swimming pools in glorious bits of the world, in comes a portfolio of 10 properties in 6 European countries - locations vary between Barcelona and Rome, London and Paris, Prague and Vienna. All the 2 bed plus apartments will be in ’Kensington’ style parts of the city and for 115,000 Euro’s you get a share in the portfolio and usage for 2 weeks a year (you can also use the properties on a part week or weekend basis).
One hundred thousands pounds isn’t exactly cheap but its an awful lot better value than the Bravo Fund and arguably investors will make better use of a range of city based apartments, especially if they’re retired or company buyers looking for a special treat for their big lucrative customers.
I still think someone could come up with a more ’middle class’ variation with an asking price around £50,000 based on a combination of city properties and villas but one senses that Rocksure needs to prove the more luxurious concept first before it heads into the mass market.”
Note – a ½ share in the Rocksure Property Capital Fund is around £50,000.

David Stevenson is also one of the Four Wise Monkeys at the online TV investment programme www.4wm.co.uk
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008
 

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Date: Dec 2008 - Publication:"Square Mile Magazine" -  Title: "A Slice of Perfection"  Author: Laura Adcock

A HOUSE FOR ALL SEASONS

Many people who dream of owning a second home overseas are, in reality, put off by the responsibility and hassle of choosing a destination and then buying, renovating, maintaining, managing and staffing their chosen property. But Rocksure Property’s Bravo Fund provides a solution. It offers shareholders (40 in total) four rent-free weeks a year in any of six luxury properties around the globe.

Properties are chosen in some of the world’s most glamorous and desirable locations with worldwide appeal and good potential for capital appreciation. Destinations for the Bravo Fund are Brazil, Colorado, Croatia, Morocco, Thailand and Portugal [pictured right]. The locations of the four/five bedroom houses — with an average value of around £1m each - combine to offer year-round sunshine, top class skiing and golf.

The Bravo Fund spreads the risk across six countries, increasing the potential for capital appreciation of the world’s most glamorous an desirable locations with worldwide appeal and good potential for capital appreciation and minimising the problems often associated with dependency on a single market. Entry level costs are also considerably lower than whole ownership and give you access to not one but six magnificent properties.

Ownership costs £189,000 for a seven-year, full unit investment. The properties are then sold and any capital gains are repatriated to shareholders.

LAURA ADCOCK explores the benefits of fractional ownership…
 

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Date: Dec 2008 - Publication:"City Life" -  Title: "Rocking Villas"  Author: Kasha Van Sant

David Rodgers who originally trained to be a barrister elaborates on the time share label and how in his final days at Abercrombie & Kent he came across the American concept of the destination club,

“So you sign a cheque for x amount and it’s like buying membership access, you don’t own anything.  And I thought ‘that will never work in the UK’.  So I enhanced the idea and added a key factor.  Let the shareholder own 100% of the properties.  That’s the difference between us and timeshare.”

But what will this buy you? A pretty impressive chunk of a property worth at least £1 million, that comes without a need to maintain, staff or furnish.  All a stone’s throw away from sun, sea, sand, skiing or golf. And often a combination of several, thus dubbing each home “the house for all seasons.”   Think, a 5-star luxury hotel that you own for a rent free period of 4 weeks per year.  With only a small number of people allowed entry into the fund and that’s after having a credentials and income checks (£250,000 of assets over and above your house or an income of over £100,000 over several years); standards, quality and time allowed for stays are not diluted or impacted upon.  According to David this makes for a more “intimate” investment, with only 40 units of investment within the Bravo fund.

So what kind of people have bought into Rocksure?

“They’re in their early fifties, most are still working and are comfortably wealthy, own houses worth £1 - 2 million in value.  They’re not the super rich.  Accountants, lawyers, entrepreneurs, MPs and then there are some people who don’t have defined jobs and are just naturally rich.”

The bottom line is that these are people that want a normal house, something that is special but not “uper grand, with butlers”.  David admits that Rocksure shareholders would be horrified by that.  In a visit to the Algarve property  David and Desmond put their money where their mouths are.  This property, Casa Alto do Cerro in Loulé is a stunning 5 - bedroom affair with 360° panoramic views over the Algarve and the Atlantic Ocean, a heated swimming pool and expansive grounds.

And absolutely everything you would expect from a notch villa.  Throw in all the mod cons, computer access, a cook to prepare meals; it’s definitely not to be sniffed at.

So what’s nearby?  The historic town of Loulé, is an active market town dating back to the 12th century with medieval castle remnants and a hilltop church. Then there’s Val do Lobo with its golf course and beachfront, and of course Quinta do Lago which is perfect for a seafront lunch whilst enjoying the views  overlooking the lakes of the renowned Ria Formosa Natural Park – arguably one of the most beautiful natural areas in the Algarve.

Quite obviously a lot of research has gone into finding this location.  Desmond Patrick-Smith sources all the properties and the furnishings that go in them; he leaves no stone unturned when looking for the best each location has to offer.

With the British climate being what it is, there is no doubt that bookings to certain areas of guaranteed sunshine will be popular.  How does the holiday booking system, do people get double booked I wonder?

“There’s a private reservations website for the shareholders.  They can see the whole calendar for the six properties and they make a request.  If someone else happens to want that same time slot also then the computer, which is set to specific criteria, will know if you took the same slot in the same location the previous year.  So the person who hasn’t been will get priority.”

It all sounds incredibly easy and exciting in theory but what happens if you cannot or do not wish to commit to the 7 - 8 year maturation period?  David explains that the option to leave is given, and that particular share is offered to other members of the fund who may wish to increase their holding.  Rocksure will even help facilitate the process if need be.

In conclusion there is something rather beguiling about this fund, or perhaps it is the charisma of its founders, think the man from Delmonte, for luxury property.  As the climates will dictate there’s probably a Panama hat thrown in for real somewhere!

Rocksure so named for its stability or as David says, “the ability to afford security and withstand economic pressures.”  But surely with the economy tightening its belt in such a manner this could be tricky times?
“We launched the second fund straight into the teeth of the gale - right into the downturn.  In January 2008 people hadn’t identified the consequences of it and in the first half of the year we did very well and raised £3-4 million for the Bravo Fund but we have been lucky because the Alpha Fund did so well.”

There are other funds around the world and there is absolutely no reason why this one should stand out from the crowd, but it does.  And if that isn’t enough of a parting thought then the soon to be launched Capital Fund for apartments in selected cities around Europe, should be.  For more information on spending weekend breaks away in apartments in places such as Cannes, Prague, Marbella, Venice and more, be sure to see the Rocksure website!

Rocksure Property
www.rocksureproperty.com
Tel: 01993 823 809

Rocksure Rentals
www.rocksurerentals.com
Tel: 01 993 823 809

Bravo Fund

.           40 units in total

.           Subscription cost for one unit £189,000 entitling owners to an average of 4 rent-free weeks p/a

.           Subscription cost for ½ unit £94,500 entitling owners to an average of 2 rent-free weeks p/a

.           Annual Management and Maintenance Contribution £1,800 per full unit

.           Destinations = Brazil, Croatia, Colorado, Morocco, Portugal, Thailand

.           Sale of properties and repatriation of capital after 8 years

.           Properties can be rented out if entitlement weeks are not taken

.           Shareholders will receive 60% of the net rental achieved

Rocksure Rentals

.           Mid season villa rental rates for 2008:

.           El Goute (sleeps 8 adults + 2 children) in Marrakech, Morocco costs from £2,995 per week

.           Rock House (sleeps 10) in Breckenridge, Colorado costs from £3,486 per week

.           Villa Arawan (sleeps 10 - 12) on the island of Phuket, Thailand costs from £3,115 per week

.           Casa Bella Vista (sleeps 10) in Buzios, Brazil costs from £2,600 per week

.           Casa Alto Do Cerro (sleeps 10) in the Algarve, Portugal costs from £2,495 per week

 

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Date: Nov 20th 2008 - Publication:"After Hours Magazine" -   Title: "Variety Club"  Author: Jessie Hewitson

VARIETY CLUB

Overseas property clubs are the latest thing in holiday-home investment, offering members a choice of luxury addresses around the world and, sometimes, the promise of a tidy profit.  Jessie Hewitson investigates.

WHY HAVE ONE holiday home when you can have access to six luxury pads around the world, spending, for example, your summers in the South of France and your winters in Aspen?

This is the argument put forward by overseas property clubs, a new breed of holiday home investment. Membership allows you the use of several lavish villas around the world—though not before you sign a big cheque, of course.

Rocksure, the first to open for business, describes itself as a “property fund”—one that will sell all the properties after seven years, with the profits repatriated to the members, minus a 17.5 per cent charge deducted by the fund’s managers. The company is now on to its second fund—its first one has 36 members, while the second is looking for 40. Full membership costs £189,000, plus an annual service charge of £1,800, which works out at £450 per week, if you’re using the four-week quota, and covers cleaning, gardening, utility bills and a food-and-wine welcome pack on arrival.

Not all the money goes into the fund. Five per cent of the total is held back to cover essential costs, such as stamp duty taxes, renovations, furnishings and contingencies. The charges for services, which include maid service, are kept down by letting the properties on the open market when investors do not want to use them. Members get to spend four weeks in any of the sumptuous properties in the six destinations Rocksure offers: Algarve, Marrakech, Brazil, Phuket, Colorado and Croatia. All properties will have at least four double bedrooms, with a good-sized swimming pool and terrace. Each one comes with its own housekeeper, and there’ll be a cook on hand to rustle up a delicious dinner.

Nick Van Gruisen, managing director of the Ultimate Travel Company, has a share in Rocksure. He bought it mainly as a property investment. ”l think the locations that the properties are in have a very good chance of showing a healthy return seven years down the line,” he says. ”l also like having the opportunity to nip off to nice places without the hassle. Everything’s there; you don’t even have to think about it.”

HOME FROM HOME PROS                         

Access to a whole range of different addresses in a variety of countries

Start your holiday as soon as you arrive: the homes are well maintained, with some providing a concierge service

You can spread the risk of investment. Falling house prices in Europe won’t necessarily be replicated in the Bahamas

Luxury extras such as tennis courts, and chauffered cars are common, benefits you don’t get when you manage the investment yourself

AND THE CONS

How you exit the investment club isn’t always clear

Because the schemes are largely untested, it’s difficult to estimate their value. Will there be enough demand to sell your share for a decent return?

You own shares in a fund rather than the property itself. This reduces the risk, but also reduces the value of your potential reward

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Date: Nov 19th 2008 - Publication:"The Independant" -   Title: "Homes Across the Globe"  Author: Laura Latham

Why restrict yourself to one holiday house? Laura Latham looks at the schemes that can triple your fun

Wednesday, 19 November 2008

Second homes can be fantastic assets but, even if you use them regularly, you'll often end up paying the mortgage and costs of a place that's empty for much of the time.

The idea behind new-style property clubs is that investors can have all the benefits of owning overseas without any hassle. The model is similar to fractional schemes in that investors generally own shares or a stake in the property freehold but ownership covers a number of homes of higher value than could typically be bought by individuals. You can also benefit from any capital appreciation over the period of time you remain in the fund.

Clubs vary in how they operate. Rocksure, for example, has several funds, each of which runs for seven years and contains six high-end, fully staffed properties collectively owned by a maximum of 40 investors. Homes are in established holiday locations such as the Algarve, Morocco and Phuket, with its soon-to-be-launched Capital Fund including European cities.

"If you own one holiday home, you won't necessarily want to go there every year, and you'll be saddled with the problem of who's going to look after it in your absence," says the company's founder, David Rogers. "It also means that you're risking your capital in one location. We offer the chance to experience holidays in luxury properties across the globe, while giving investors a safe spread of destinations."

Full membership of Rocksure's Bravo Fund is £189,000, which entitles you to four weeks' holiday per year in any of the six residences currently being sourced. Three-quarter and half shares are also available for £141,750 and £94,000 respectively.

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Date: Oct 22nd 2008 - Publication:"Country Life" -   Title: "How to Rent the High Life?"  Author: Jonathan Self

How to rent the high life?

Want to see out the credit crunch on board a luxury yacht?
Perhaps clutching a Hermes handbag or wearing a Rolex?
No problem, says JONATHAN SELF

I know that money can't buy happiness, but I wouldn't mind in the least being referred to as that gloomy chap with the new Learjet. Not that owning an aeroplane is my priority. The epitome of luxury, so far as I am concerned, is to be freed of all domestic duties. There was a brief period of affluence, before I swapped commerce for indolence, when we had a day nanny, night nanny, cook, cleaner, driver and gardener. It was my proud boast that we were never knowingly understaffed, and my idea of housework was to sweep the room with a glance.

'What most of us crave, if we're honest, are big luxuries: beautiful homes in different parts of the world, private jets, yachts, fast cars, designer clothes and the rest of it'.

That was then, however, and this is now.  In these more austere times, the temptation is to fall back on the mantra that it is the little luxuries in life that bring lasting pleasure. Total rot, of course. I'm as partial to a morning in bed with the papers and a picnic on a sunny day as the next person, but little luxuries are just that. What most of us crave, if we're honest, are big luxuries: beautiful homes in different parts of the world, private jets, yachts, fast cars, designer clothes and the rest of it.

Is this feasible for someone not unfamiliar with the sensation that there is simply too much month left at the end of the money? With a bit of judicious planning, and thanks to some innovative new fractional-ownership companies, it is.

 A house for all Seasons

The most popular form of fractional ownership is property. One scheme that caught my eye was A House for all Seasons (www.rocksureproperty.com). For £189,000, you buy a share in six fully staffed holiday homes in places such as the Algarve (in Casa Alto Do Cerro, left), Thailand and New York.  Every year, you can have four rent-free weeks in any of the properties, until 2016, when the portfolio will be sold. The manager, Rocksure Property, believe you will see your capital returned with interest

Fractional ownership

IN SOME RESPECTS, the law of diminishing returns sets in when it comes to luxury assets. The more things you have, the less use you get from each of them, and high-ticket toys eat up time as well as money. Maintaining and staffing multiple properties or keeping a classic car on the road require a certain amount of effort. Which is why even Russian oligarchs are taking advantage of a concept called fractional ownership.  Fractional ownership is the easiest way to live the life of a multi-millionaire for less.  In essence, you club together with others to buy an asset-it could be anything from an Hermes handbag to a Highland estate and share any costs involved in looking after it. You can then use the asset in proportion to the financial contribution you have made.  In addition to being able to enjoy a luxury item for a fraction of its value, this type of ownership has other benefits. You never have to feel guilty about buying something and not using it fully, plus you don't have to be involved in its upkeep or management.  It can be a canny way to diversify your investments too, and many assets will increase in value the longer you hold on to them.

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Date: Oct 21st 2008 - Publication:"Daily Telegraph" -   Title: "How to beat the Financial Crisis"  Author: Caroline Gammell

How to beat the financial crisis

The credit crisis may have leached money from the wealthiest of people, but for those wishing to keep up appearances, luxury is still available.

By Caroline Gammell
Last Updated: 9:58PM BST 21 Oct 2008

Consumers determined to look the part regardless of the financial chaos around them can now hire the car, yacht, handbag and even dog of their dreams for days, weeks or months at a time.

For a one-off payment of £189,000, someone can buy a share in six fully staffed holiday homes spreading across the globe from Thailand, Brazil, Portugal and Morocco.  The scheme, A House for All Seasons - part of rocksureproperty.com - guarantees a fully furnished four or five bedroom house, complete with full-time cook and part-time gardener.  The part-owners are entitled to four rent-free weeks a year in any of the properties over the next seven years, before the houses are sold.

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Date: Aug 18th 2008 - Publication:"Hedge" -   Title: "Global Appeal"  Author: Edward Vaughan & Rebecca Newman

GLOBAL APPEAL

A TRIO OF NEW PRIVATE DESTINATION CLUBS AIMS TO MAKE THE WORLD YOUR HOME

— EDWARD VAUGHAN & REBECCA NEWMAN —

Rocksure is the brainchild of David Rogers and Desmond Patrick-Smith, former COO and MD Abercrombie & Kent respectively.  ‘I came across the concept in the US’ says Rogers. ‘But there the bricks and mortar are owned by the entrepreneurs, not the people who write the cheques. It wouldn’t work in the UK where we have a love affair with property.’  So Rogers turned the concept on its head. ‘The people that write the cheques own the property. I make money from the fees and a share of the gain at the end of it.  So I am motivated to buy and sell well.’

Rogers and Patrick-Smith started planning Rocksure in 2005. ‘We launched in 2006, and the first fund - the Alpha Fund - went on the market in July 2007.  It closed after eight months: our City friends assure us we did well to raise nearly £6m so fast with a new company with no track record.’  Rocksure launched its second, Bravo Fund in January.

While properties aren’t sourced until after the fund is closed, they will be on a par with the Alpha Fund. The Bravo Fund is targeting properties valued at £1m apiece in the Rockies, Thailand, Marrakech, the Algarve, Brazil and the Adriatic coast.  ‘We have just passed the halfway mark.  It is a bit slower than we’d hoped – not surprising in the present climate.  But there is no rush, as long as the other investors don’t get restless.’

Rocksure offers 40 units of investment at £189,000 each - minimum investment is a half unit – which buys a part of a limited company in the Cayman Islands.  ‘The clients own the houses completely, and the interest on their investment, as it were, is four rent-free weeks in the houses each year.  At the end of seven years we sell all the houses.  ‘The first 20 percent of the profit on the sale is untouched; after that we shave off 17.5 per cent.

‘It’s a great way of investing overseas, particularly for first-timers: it is an easy way to dip a toe in the water, with risk spread over six destinations.  There’s no gearing, no borrowing.  We pay cash for all the properties - one reason we are able to buy well.  We wear out our shoe leather looking for properties.  Desmond looked at over 80 properties on the Algarve, sifting through a lot of overpriced rubbish, before finding the one we bought.’

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Date: May 16th 2008 - Publication:"The Times" -   Title: "Overseas property: the low-cost route to investing abroad"  Author: Paula Hawkins

Overseas property: the low-cost route to investing abroad

£94,000 buys you a share of the profits in six foreign homes

Overseas property is a tricky asset class for the investor. The initial outlay is large, there are layers of bureaucracy to negotiate, often in a foreign language, fees to pay for lettings management and high maintenance costs. This is perhaps why most of us buy abroad for pleasure, rather than capital gain - but what if there were a way to achieve both?

It is with this in mind that the Rocksure property company has come up with “A House for All Seasons”, combining an overseas property fund with a fractional ownership scheme. Investors commit a slice of capital upfront, invested in a portfolio of six properties. They receive no income but are allotted four weeks a year in any of the properties. At the end of the fund's seven years, the properties are sold and the profits shared among investors, though the fund managers take 17.5 per cent of any increase above the first 20 per cent gain. The minimum investment is half a unit, which entitles you to two weeks a year in the properties and costs £94,500.

“Investors like the fact that, in property terms, this is a relatively small amount to invest,” says David Rogers, one of Rocksure's founders. “They like the investment being in six properties, which means that risk is well spread, and the fact that there is no mortgage.” Rogers is a former chief operating officer of Abercrombie & Kent, the luxury travel company; his co-founder at Rocksure, Desmond Patrick-Smith, was managing director for Europe at the same firm. They set up Rocksure and launched their first fund, the Alpha Fund, in July 2006. It closed last summer having raised a little over £5.7 million, which was spent on properties in Morocco, Brazil, the United States, Portugal and Thailand.

 The directors chose all the properties themselves. Rogers says: “In Portugal, Desmond looked at more than 80 properties before he found the right one.” He selected Casa Alto do Cerro, a five-bedroom, five-bathroom villa in Loulé in the Algarve. “The crucial thing to remember is that we are buying to sell,” Rogers says. All Rocksure's properties sleep ten people, are worth an average of £1million each and are fully staffed.

One key attraction is price; the annual management fee for a full unit, which costs £189,000 and entitles the investor to four weeks a year in the properties, is only £1,800. Many fractional ownership schemes levy fees of several thousands a year. 

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Date: April 14th 2008 - Publication:"Country Life" -   Title: "Buyer's Guides: Fractional Ownership"  Author: Holly Kirkwood

Fractional ownership schemes are serious investments in international high-end properties, says HOLLY KIRKWOOD

Rocksure Property’s Alpha Fund allows Investors to buy not just time, but also shares in the capital appreciation of the properties

SECOND-HOME ownership - especially abroad—isn’t without its headaches.  In the I980’s the time­share concept provided a solution by sharing the responsibility of maintenance and upkeep among a group of people. It received some bad press. But in its place is a new concept of fractional ownership that’s taking the high-end market by storm.

It offers several weeks per year in exotic locations, plus rental returns and, importantly a share in the capital appreciation of the property.

Fractional ownership involves buying a share in an item rather than the whole thing—an idea, born in the US, that British investors are beginning to embrace. The concept can be applied to anything from a handbag to a racehorse, but it works particularly well with property…

…But most of us would like a second home slightly further afield, and other similar propositions with property overseas offer a type of spread bet on global-capital appreciation. Termed property-investment funds, these schemes allow members to buy a share in the equity of a portfolio of high-end properties all over the world, and, in return, they receive a set amount of tome to spend in them per year.  After, an agreed period of time, the fund dissolves and the properties are sold for a profit, with each investor getting their share, plus rental profits throughout.

One of the first of these to launch was Rocksure Property. In 2007 the company introduced its Alpha Fund, which sold 40 shares in a portfolio of six properties, and has a lifespan of seven years.  Following this success, it began the Bravo Fund, which will provide top-end properties – worth £1 million or more - in Thailand, Brazil, Morocco, the Adriatic Coast, the Algarve and Colorado.  From the point of view of the investor the mix of year-round sunshine and skiing opportunities in a variety of long- and short-haul destinations has a wide appeal, and the portfolio which combines established and emerging markets, is a canny investment.  A single share costs £189,000, and buys you four weeks per year, with annual maintenance fees of about £1,800. After seven years, Rocksure takes 17.5% of anything you earn on top of the first 20% increase of investment, which gives it quite an incentive to choose its properties wisely…

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Date: March 30th 2008 - Publication:"The Sunday Telegraph" -   Title: "All yours for under £200,000"  Author: Sonia Purnell

Instead of forking out for one holiday home, you could join a club and get six for a similar amount, writes Sonia Purnell

When Anthony Hamilton, a business consultant living in central London, decided to buy himself a fancy overseas pad, he was not so keen on the usual dreary routine of trekking around estate agents trying to find the right one. He was also concerned that he might quickly tire of revisiting the same property in the same location; nor did he relish the idea of spending his holidays getting the swimming pool fixed.

Instead, he, like an increasing number of other busy professionals decided to buy into a new concept of club ownership. Instead of forking out for one high-end property, with all the attendant costs and concerns, he invested in a fund with 35 other like-minded people to buy six £1 million places around the world to be looked after by a specialist management company.

“I just didn’t want the hassle of buying myself,” says Anthony. “I liked the idea of buying an international portfolio and I bought into the expertise of people who understand the travel industry and know how to get value for money.

“I now enjoy going to six different places, where I might not otherwise have visited. I own a share of all of them, but without any of the hassle of maintenance.” 

Anthony invested £159,000 in the Alpha Fund run by Rocksure (01993 823809, www.rocksureproperty.com), which bought properties in New York, Brazil, Marrakesh, the Algarve, Phuket in Thailand and Breckenridge ski resort in the Rockies, pictured right. Investors can spend on average four weeks a year in the properties, with an annual service charge of £1,800.  He has visited the Marrakesh property – a redstone Moroccan house with traditional courtyards and views of the Atlas mountains - and a tropical beach house in Buzios in Brazil - with Jacuzzi and pool - which is two hours from Rio de Janeiro. Next, he wants to visit the Algarve property, with its pool and panoramic views. All have four to five bedrooms, sleeping eight to 10 people.

 “ I now enjoy going to six different places, where I might not otherwise have visited”

The Alpha fund is now closed, but Rocksure is inviting investors to put up £189,000 to join a new Bravo fund which will also aim to buy six more properties for 40 investors, although replacing the New York destination with one in Croatia.

“The funds sell after seven years and repatriate the profits, so our main criterion is which is most likely to increase in value over seven years,” says David Rogers of Rocksure.

“We’re buying to sell. The whole purpose is capital appreciation, and the higher entry price in the Bravo fund reflects our success with the Alpha fund, which has seen a 10 percent per annum increase in value.

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Date: March 29th 2008 - Publication:"The Telegraph" -   Title: "Fractional ownership: A property portfolio for all seasons?"   Author: Ginetta Verdrikas

Rocksure Property's Bravo Fund

Where Brazil, Thailand (pictured above), Morocco, Portugal's Algarve, Croatia's Adriatic Coast and the Rockies in the US

What An initial deposit of £189,000, plus annual fees of £1,800, buys a stake in the portfolio and guarantees you four weeks' use annually. Owners get full concierge services. Your share can be put into the rental pool, earning you 60 per cent of the rental income. Limited to 40 investors, you are tied in for seven years, after which the properties are all sold, earning you your initial stake back plus a share of any profit

They say David Rogers, Rocksure's founder, says: "Wealthy, time-poor individuals realise that, instead of enduring the grief and hassle of second homeownership on the Continent, where it is cold and wet for nearly half the year, it makes sense to invest a fraction of the amount in co-ownership of multiple overseas properties offering year-round sunshine plus world-class skiing and golf. Ownership of the real estate is the key. Other schemes such as destination clubs are just timeshare by another name."

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Date: March 15th 2008 - Publication:"Billionair500.com" -   Title: "Rocksure Property Fund Investing While You Holiday"

Rocksure Property Fund Investing While You Holiday

With a prevailing sense of economic doom in the air it is not surprising that second home-abroad owners may start to be getting anxious about their bolt-hole investment in Spain Bulgaria Turkey or wherever the last great opportunity was meant to be.  Even HNW individuals pondering the best way forward would do well to think in terms of diversification to spread the risk, and one way (short of your own multiple-acquisitions) is to invest in fund or club whereby you own a stake in a portfolio of properties that you would also actually want to use. As well as being sourced by “experts” you are relieved of all the usual personal headaches that come with the addition of each new home abroad.

Rocksure Property offers just such a fund with a lot of good logic and pedigree behind it along with a choice of residences for those used to a certain level of space and luxury. It launched its first fund, the Alpha Fund, in July 2006, which recently closed with 38 Shareholders, all owning a share of six beautiful houses around the world and following this success, Rocksure Property launched its Bravo Fund at the end of last year.

The Bravo Fund will comprise six luxury properties hand-picked in some of the worlds most stylish locations -  Brazil, Thailand, Morocco, The Algarve, The Adriatic Coast and The Rockies - all of which can be used by Shareholders and their families rent-free for several weeks a year.  Shareholders can enjoy a collection of million pound homes, furnished to high standards, and being located in different countries, their investment risk is spread.  The Fund’s Advisors have strategically chosen top-end properties that should be excellent investments and collectively offer year round sunshine and a high chance of strong capital appreciation, especially with things turning in favour of a buyers market right now.

David Rogers, the founding director of the fund says, “Wealthy time-poor individuals are realising that, instead of enduring the grief and hassle of second home ownership on the continent, where it is cold and wet for nearly half the year, it makes sense to invest a fraction of the amount in co-ownership of multiple overseas properties offering year-round sunshine plus world-class skiing and golf. Ownership of the real estate is the key.” Certainly there is a lot to be said for diversifying across markets and climates in this “House for all Seasons” programme, as well as having someone else worry about all the management issues. Why just be tied to a villa in Europe in winter when you could be skiing from your place in Colorado?

The properties will consist of detached homes with an average individual value of £1m. Each home will have four to five bedrooms accommodating parties of up to 8-10 people. They will be furnished to high standards and specifications and will be looked after by a housekeeper who will prepare meals using local produce, as well as a maid and part-time gardener to monitor the maintain the pool both while shareholders are using their homes and in their absence.  The sporting and leisure facilities available will obviously vary widely from destination to destination, but a Rocksure representative will assist with advice and access to equipment hire, ski passes, golf tee times and other reservations wherever needed.  Babysitting can be arranged and reservations in the best local restaurants can be organised for you prior to arrival just to make sure you get the most out of your holiday.  Many of the houses will be equipped with a massage bed and arrangements can be made with a masseur/masseuse to come to the house by appointment to help you unwind and totally relax.

So how does the Bravo Fund work? There are 40 Units available in total and subscription cost is £189,000 each. A full Unit entitles the owner to an average 4 rent-free weeks each year at any of the houses at any time, subject to availability — shareholders have access to a protected area of the Rocksure website where they can view availability and when their houses are free for them to visit. The Bravo Fund is also selling half Units at £94,500 (an average of 2 rent-free weeks per annum) and three quarter Units at £141,750 with an entitlement of an average 3 rent-free weeks each year. This on paper seems to offer the best of both worlds - investment and usage. Especially when many of our HNW readers tell us that they often don’t get to use their own overseas homes themselves for more than a few weeks in a year.

There is a reasonable Annual Management and Maintenance Contribution towards the running costs of the houses which is just £1,800 per Full Unit in 2008 -  this is the only extra cost so no hidden extras to worry about. Finally and crucially, properties can be enjoyed by the Shareholders as well as their families. If Shareholders do not wish to use their full entitlement of weeks in a particular year Rocksure will let the unwanted weeks through the rental arm www.rocksurerentals.com and the Shareholders will receive 60% of the net rental achieved.

Founder David Rogers and Desmond Patrick-Smith, both have excellent pedigrees having spent many years with the UK’s most exclusive tour operator, Abercrombie & Kent. They should know a thing or two what people expect from a holiday villa or chalet and the same A&K standards they say will be imposed on the Rocksure brand so guaranteeing a superb service and holiday memories for years to come.  Maybe there is some sun after all behind those property clouds…

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Date: March 12th 2008 - Publication:"The Sunday Times" -   Title: "A stake in several properties could be the answer to the conventional holiday home" - Author: Lucy Denyer

If you’d love to own a holiday home, but can’t decide where, new schemes offering investors a stake in several glamorous properties around the globe seem the perfect solution. Do they add up?

When Frank and Anne Humphry decided to invest in a holiday home, the options seemed endless. The only trouble was, they didn’t want to end up going on holiday, with their three children – Edward, 7, David, 6, and Erica, 5 – to the same place every year. So when they came across a scheme run by Rocksure Property that offered a stake in six £1m properties around the world, it seemed ideal.

Last year, the Humphrys paid £189,000 for a single unit in Rocksure’s Alpha Fund, allowing them to spend four weeks each year in a variety of locations, from Phuket, Thailand, to Breckenridge, in the Rocky Mountains, Colorado. In return for their money, they get a share in the specially created company that owns the properties, which means they benefit from any capital appreciation. And, if they don’t want to use any of their weeks, they can rent them out privately or through Rocksure.

In March 2015, the properties will be sold and the proceeds distributed among investors. Rocksure calculates that if the value of the portfolio has risen by an average 3% per year in the meantime, this will give an annual return of 7.22% once the market value of the four weeks each year is factored in. If it has gone up by 9%, the return will be 10.53%. You can get out earlier, provided a buyer can be found.

“The fact that we can invest in a property fund while at the same time having a damn good laugh – it’s a bit of a win, really,” says Frank, 40, who has just returned from 10 days’ skiing in the Rockies with his family, staying at Rocksure’s five-bedroom house. “Granted, it’s an investment, so it could go down as well as up, but I look at where the properties are and I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

Rocksure is now setting up its second fund, expected to include properties in Breckenridge, Phuket, Marrakesh, the Algarve, Buzios, in Brazil, and the Adriatic coast.

“It’s an investment that appeals to successful people who have made money and want to have fun,” says David Rogers, formerly chief operating officer at the luxury travel company Abercrombie & Kent, and one of Rocksure’s founders. “It’s boring having shares in Cadbury, where the dividend goes straight to your bank account, Gordon Brown takes 40% and you get zero real pleasure. With us, you’ve got capital appreciation and a visible asset you can have fun with.”

The scheme is the latest twist on fractional ownership, a form of buying pioneered in America, where several people buy a stake in a property together. Unlike time-share, with which it is often confused, it gives owners a share of the title.

Because each fund has a limited stock of property, there is competition for the best times: with Rocksure, for example, each shareholder is entitled to two high-season and two mid-season weeks each year, so you can forget booking every Christmas and half term away.

Want to join the club?

How Rocksure works

Forty investors put in £189,000 each

Rocksure buys six properties around the world, each valued at about £1m, over nine months

Investors are allowed to spend four weeks a year in any of the six (although they must also pay a £1,800 annual management fee)

After seven years, all the properties are sold and the money is split 40 ways

Pros

It takes away the hassle of shopping for overseas property and booking a holiday each year

You own a share of the homes, so, if they increase in value, you benefit when they are sold

Unlike other fractional schemes, it allows you to stay in different properties

You get the comfort of a luxury hotel, combined with the advantages of a private home

Cons

You’re sharing the properties with 40 other families, so there is no guarantee that you will be able to have the one you want when you want it

You have to wait seven years for your money – or find a buyer if you want to bail out early

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Date: March 1st 2008 - Publication:"The Independent" -   Title: "How to live like a millionaire – even if it's only part-time"  Author: Kate Hughes

Be honest. Given half a chance you'd jump at living the lifestyle of a millionaire. For most of us, however, this will never be any more than a pipe dream. Disposable incomes have fallen by 5 per cent over the last decade, according to price comparison site uSwitch.com, thanks to, among other things, soaring tax bills, rising housing costs and increasing utility bills.

But you may not need a winning Lottery ticket to get your hands on a red Ferrari or Swiss chalet. If that must-have item is just out of reach, why not follow the example of a racehorse syndicate and simply buy a portion of what you want?

This is the glamorous 21st-century world of fractional ownership, the gateway to luxury for those of us without seven-figure bank balances.

But utter the sullied words "time share" at your peril. The difference here is that fractional ownership usually affords you a percentage ownership of the possession in question rather than just a piece of time with, or in, it. If you bought part of a New York apartment, for example, your legal agreement would probably mean that you had a few weeks allocated to use it every year, but you may also hold deeds that can be bought, sold or inherited as you wish.

Time team: part-owning property

Many investors use multiple ownership of property as an alternative way of getting property exposure without the risk, says Piers Brown of Fractional Life. "With the current economic climate, people are looking at purchasing the best they can afford using fractional ownership as a defensive 'financial play' to retain exposure to the property market while maximising their lifestyle."

Mark Nichols, 44, a solicitor from London, bought into the Rocksure Property Alpha Fund (www.rocksureproperty.com) in 2006, by buying one of 36 "units" for £170,000. The fund then bought six properties worldwide. The owner of each unit gets a total of four weeks a year in any of the properties. After eight years, the properties are sold and the capital divided between the unit owners. "We like to go abroad as a family, but not always to the same place," he says. "This arrangement worked because it has taken us to fabulous villas in places we would not otherwise have gone, and the division of time seems very fair."

If you are considering buying a share of a property, you must be happy not only with the property itself but also with the surrounding infrastructure, facilities and local region. Eric Gummers of legal firm Howard Kennedy adds: "Be realistic about the contractual relationship with your co-sharers."

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Date: February  23rd 2008 - Publication:"FT - Weekend Money" -   Title: "Time to perk up property portfolios"  Author: David Stevenson

Many aeons ago, I came up with an idea for a TV series. I knew a leading prime-time executive who I thought might be interested in programmes about foreign property as an investment.

The programme idea was unimaginatively called A Castle in the Sun and I thought it would be a huge success - as we Brits spread our property obsession worldwide. The executive feigned interest and muttered: "Sorry, David, it's a nice idea, but property just wouldn't make good telly - it'll be like watching paint dry! Also we British would never look on a villa in places like eastern Europe as an investment."

Clearly in hindsight, his skills as a clairvoyant were non-existent, as British TV now broadcasts umpteen foreign property shows. But I still think about his general observation on second homes as a property "investment". Depending on whom you talk to, between 200,000 and 2m Brits have some form of foreign property investment - that's an accumulation of wealth (or debt) on a par with direct equity investments. I've done so too, buying a rambling farmhouse in France.

The worm may be turning, though. A few weeks back, the Financial Times reported that prices of Bulgarian second homes had dropped by just under 10 per cent, sparking a flurry of indebted forced sellers. This tallies with reports from friends in Turkey, who say that estate agents in resorts such as Bodrum are seeing a sharp downturn in interest. Add to that the widely predicted fall in prices in coastal Spain, and the troubles of specialist estate agents such as Medsea, and you have the makings of an overseas property bear market.

But I think there may be a deeper problem. Putting on my boring asset allocation hat, I detect a serious lack of diversification. Not only are we overly obsessed with property as an asset class, but we're making an additional mistake with foreign property: we only buy one, when the sensible strategy is to spread risk and buy a small portfolio of properties.

In fact, portfolio theory has led me to ponder timeshare or holiday property clubs. Most of the existing schemes cannot be considered as investments in any meaningful sense. You're effectively parting with money to enjoy an amenity.

But there is an alternative if you happen to have a spare £187,000. It's offered by a company called Rocksure, and is designed to work as a long-term investment.

Here's the deal. You and 40 other investors pool your cash and invest a total of £7.56m in six properties in locations as varied as Phuket, Marrakech and Croatia. All six are luxury homes, with swimming pools and staff. You and the other 39 investors can then enjoy four weeks every year in one of the six properties, taking in the summer sun in Phuket or the winter snow in Breckenridge. Or instead you can rent out your four weeks and get £8,000 per year, less an annual fee of £1,800 per share, giving a yield.

Most importantly, you and the other 39 unit holders actually own the properties, and then sell them on in just under eight years' time - potentially making you a profit if prices have gone up. There's no gearing - it's all the owners' equity and nothing else.

So, in my book, there are two big pluses: you are diversifying your investment across very different markets and climates - summer in the Algarve, winter sun in Phuket, and snow in Colorado.

Of course, diversification counts for nothing if the prices of the homes are too high and start falling. But Strutt Parker, Rocksure's adviser, says properties in Brazil and Phuket are bubbling up, while properties in Breckenridge and the Algarve are solid "bankers".

Rocksure also cites evidence to suggest that luxury properties with loads of facilities tend to do well, with prices rising at more than 20 per cent a year in recent times. Prices may be about to take a breather, but that means Rocksure's current offering - called the Bravo Fund (closing in the next few months) - could be well timed to pick up some decent, reasonably-priced assets.

As the fund manager, Rocksure certainly has the motivation to make you money. As well as the annual charge, it takes 17.5 per cent of any increase in the value of the assets over the time period, over and above the first 20 per cent gain. There are also charges on income from renting out the properties when they're not used by members. The owners of Rocksure at least do know a few things about luxury holiday property - they worked with prestige travel firm Abercrombie and Kent.

There are alternative approaches to this idea of syndicated property ownership. A growing number of reputable developers, including P&V of France, are offering holiday investment plans whereby owners lease back properties for rental. These schemes can also make use of heavy gearing (borrowing up to 100 per cent).

Even so, I think the Rocksure concept sounds smarter. It has syndicated the risk in a structure that appears, on first inspection, relatively open and transparent. I would only suggest one improvement to the model: for many investors, £187,000 is a lot of money, so why not apply the same concept to a launch a fund with a minimum investment of between £50,000 and £100,000? If they did, I might even think about selling the house in France - Thailand, here I come!

adventurous@ft.com

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Date: February  17th 2008 - Publication:"My Travel Magazine" -   Title: "Recline"  Author: Alexander Garrett

An alternative to fractional property is to invest in a fund or a club in which you own a stake in a portfolio of properties and benefit from their overall growth (hopefully) in value. Rocksure is one such company; its second fund called Bravo is seeking some £7.6m to buy six houses, each worth around £1m, in the US Rockies, Phuket, Marrakech, the Algarve, Brazil and Croatia. The fund is divided into 40 full shares, at £189,000 each, which entitle the owner annually to four weeks of holiday at one or more of the properties. David Rogers, the former Abercrombie & Kent executive who is a co-founder of Rocksure, says: “These houses will rent for around £4,000 a week, so our investors can look at their weeks with us as a very attractive dividend.” After seven years, the properties will be sold, hopefully at a profit, and the owners will share the proceeds.

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Date: January  11th 2008 -  Publication:   "Daily Mail"  - Title "Winter Wonderland"  - Author: Liz Rowlinson

You can have reguIar use of a luxurious five or six bedroom chalet in the Colorado ski resort of Breckenridge if you invest in a newly launched residence club. Burford based company Rocksure offers investors the chance to buy into their 'Bravo Fund’ for as little as £94,500, for which they share ownership of six luxury homes around the world. Shareholders get four weeks’ use a year of the residences plus a slice of the equity.

The Rockies' resort was chosen alongside locations such as Marrakech and Phuket in Thailand, for its four-season appeal and potential for capital appreciation. Colorado mountain property achieved record sales in 2007, and demand continues to exceed supply for this fashionable resort 100 miles from Denver. To buy a comparable chalet in Breckenridge outright would cost around £l million.

'A second home should not be a burden, but to find, finance, renovate, furnish and maintain it usually is,' says founding director David Rogers. 'This is a way of enjoying property investment without all the hassle.

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Date: January  2008 - Volume 14 - No.11 - Publication: "Homes International"  - Title: "Worldwide holidays with new property fund" - Author:

Fractional ownership schemes have been joined by another investment-friendly method of enjoying part-use of luxury homes; buying shares in a property fund.  Rocksure Property has launched the Bravo Fund, which offers 40 subscription units, each priced at £189,000 (€263,000). Shareholders will have use of six handpicked, fully furnished properties in some of the world’s most exclusive locations, from Brazil to Thailand, Morocco, the Algarve, Adriatic Coast and the Rockies.  All properties are available for use rent-free by shareholders and their families for an average of four weeks a year.  Investment risk is spread by properties.  Rocksure’s previous Alpha Fund closed in July 2007 with more than £5.7 million (€7.9 million) in subscriptions.

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