Room owner - Elkan Abrahamson

Elkan Abrahamson
GuestInvest SIPP Investor - Nest

Elkan Abrahamson, a criminal lawyer, lives in Liverpool with his wife and two teenage daughters. He purchased room number 12 at Guesthouse West, in Notting Hill, 18 months ago as part of his Self-Invested Pension Plan (SIPP).

Although Elkan has occasionally stayed at Guesthouse West, he primarily purchased the room as an investment opportunity. He intends to keep hold of his room indefinitely, to act as an income source for his SIPP.

Elkan comments, "I remember GuestInvest as one of the first investments of this kind in the UK and was attracted to the scheme as it seemed to be aimed very much at the investor. As the lifestyle benefits associated with owning a hotel room were low on my list of priorities, I purchased my room more or less on the basis of the projected returns."

And his investment appears to have paid off. In fact, average returns of more than eight per cent have meant that Elkan has been able to finish paying off the interest on his investment far earlier than expected,

and is now able to pay off capital during the interest free years of his finance agreement.

When Elkan has stayed in his room*, he has enjoyed the experience, "Although Notting Hill isn't ideally placed in terms of my work, the location itself is great, and it's nice to stay somewhere that isn't a business hotel."

As for the future, Elkan plans to keep hold of his room and watch the money tick into his account. He is especially looking forward to the company going international and the prospects that a global expansion would present.

He comments, "Being able to stay in your own hotel room in London is one thing. Having the option to own and stay in rooms across the globe is completely another - I am certainly looking forward to GuestInvest taking the concept overseas!"

* Investors purchasing a GuestInvest room as part of a SIPP should note that they are unable to stay in their room for free. However, their return on investment will rise accordingly as the number of let-able nights increases.