How does shared / fractional ownership work?
With shared / fractional ownership you buy shares in a UK limited company (Le Manoir de la Haule Ltd Company No 04101741) ), which itself owns and maintains a property, its contents and grounds, in this case Le Manoir de La Haule in Normandy, France. The company is not trading and makes no profit on its operations. Shareholders in the company contribute on a proportionate basis to the costs of running and maintaining the property, and can occupy the house also on the same proportionate basis. The amount of the contribution is set annually by the Directors and is paid by Shareholders 6 monthly in January and June. The Company produces annual accounts and makes the necessary returns to Companies House.
La Haule's shared ownership scheme
Shareholdings in the company are split into 50 blocks of shares, each block representing one week of the year with 2 service weeks that are used for maintenance of the property. When you purchase a block of shares, you are allocated a week of occupancy (running from Monday 2pm to Monday 10am) with a set date which advances by one week every year so that over time you see the property in all the different seasons and, most importantly get to be there in school holidays (or avoid them!). Blocks of shares are sold by shareholders on an ad hoc basis, and are published on our weeks for sale page on this site. The value of a block of shares is not controlled. It's all about the price set by the shareholders - and by how much you are willing to pay! The process of buying and selling is subject to UK financial regulations in respect of Stamp Duty and also where appropriate Capital Gains Tax.
All aspects of the running of La Haule such as weekly cleaning and repairs are managed by the Company so that Shareholders can have a worry-free week. Le Manoir de la Haule Ltd holds its company AGM annually at the beginning of September, where Directors brief the Shareholders on the Company's activities and financial state and where Shareholders can raise issues of Company policy such as potential improvements. It's also an opportunity for Shareholders to meet and put faces to names, rather than just reading comments in the owners log! A small number of Shareholders are appointed as Directors and some also run sub-committees such as the garden committee, and anyone who is interested is encouraged to take part.
In summary, the idea of shared ownership is that you feel like you're in your own home when you spend your week at La Haule. There's no need to spend time fixing or mending things or doing any work at all, although if you're into gardening, there's always work to be done there! If you have any additional questions about how things work, however please don't hesitate to get in contact.
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