Don't panic, there's a room for that

Properties in the multi million pound bracket tend to include a multitude of must haves.

There's the American fridge for the cook; mini hair salon for the lady of the house; private cinema and cocktail bar for him; a chauffeurs lounge for visiting drivers; Moroccan hamman for sweat devotees and a drop down wide-screen TV in the master bedroom for entertainment.

But the latest must-have for wealthy overseas buyers is the panic room.

Triple-bolted

Just like Jodie Foster hid away in her panic room in the eponymous film, security-conscious individuals including several English footballers and film stars are happy to pay as high as a six-figure sum for a secure area with triple-bolted steel doors and a direct line to the law.

Better to be safe and not sorry, says Steve Brook, sales director of the Sheffield-based Panic Room Company, who’s doing a roaring trade in Spain, the Middle East and Africa. The firm made its mark fitting pre-fabricated rooms in banks and now provides a cut-down version you can fit into a home in less than half-a-day.

Earthquake proof?

“We can make a panic room to any size. The basic design costs £11,000, and an earthquake-proof double fortress that withstands magnum fire sets you back £29,000,” he says.

A panic room is good value, argues Brook, as “it doubles up as a strong-room for valuables when you’re away”.

Areas where sales are especially brisk are Andalucia and South Africa. “I’m also getting a lot of requests from the Balkans and Greece.”

Other pluses are that in the UK you don’t need planning permission to install a panic room and they can blend in seamlessly. Bathrooms, cupboards and basement utility rooms can convert into panic rooms at the touch of a button - doors and windows bolt and shutter, independent air conditioning kicks in and a hotline to a security firm or local police station goes live.

So, in the words of Dad’s Army’s Corporal Jones: don’t panic. There's a room for that.