Constant craving

And of course in a manner of speaking the Bond’s Dordogne home is the Lucases’ own place. After all, investment in the Bond gives every Bondholder a share in the ownership of the HPB property portfolio; not just Constant, but over 1,300 apartments, cottages and villas at 31 beautiful locations in Europe and the UK.

The Lucases, from Jersey, invested in the Bond in 2001. “Carly, our eldest, was a baby then,” Andrew recalls. “But future breaks were clearly going to be family holidays. We visited Constant with Bondholder friends; that first trip was all the convincing we needed that HPB would be right for us.”

Andrew and wife Janine run a sizeable family company, part plant nursery, part farm shop, part retail and wholesale supplier of fruit and vegetables, dairy products, bakery items, fresh fish, flowers and floristry, plants and nursery stock. “It’s a busy business,” says Janine, “and time off is very precious – we don’t want to spend our long looked-forward-to holidays anywhere less than perfect. And HPB has been perfect every time. We have had other, non-HPB holidays – but they really didn’t compare.”

To date, the Lucases have enjoyed Bond holidays at Le Mont de St Siméon in Île de France, just east of Paris; Le Manoir du Hilguy in Brittany; Encosta Cabo Girão in Madeira; La Reserva de Biniorella in Majorca; and of course Constant, more than 20 times. “We’re working our way through all the properties,” Janine jokes. “Although with 60 in total, we’re not even halfway there.”

Favourites so far include Encosta Cabo Girão – “though we didn’t have the greatest weather, the site was superb and Madeira spectacular” – and… well, you can guess. But why do Janine and Andrew love HPB’s Périgord site so much?

“I guess ease of access has something to do with it,” muses Andrew. “We take the ferry to St Malo – an easy hop from Jersey – and then it’s a leisurely drive down through France. The journey really is part of the holiday.”

“But when we get there, we immediately feel at home,” adds Janine. “Carly loves it – and so do our five-year-old twins, Nathan and Macey. They know where everything is – especially the play areas and the swimming pools! They say familiarity breeds contempt; I have to say, not in this case.”

So what sites are on the Lucas wishlist? “The British ones,” Andrew says. “Living in the Channel Islands, the UK for us is just as much ‘abroad’ as Europe is.”

But for the time being, Constant will do just fine. “We really do love the place. When we’re there we have a fantastic time; and when we’re not we’re always thinking about our next trip. Constantly, even!”