But it appears the UK’s superrich are already several steps ahead, with record-high enquiries about private nuclear bunkers.
Amid a febrile geopolitical atmosphere and fears that wars in Ukraine and Gaza could escalate into wider conflicts, ultra high net worth individuals are asking about installing a nuclear bunker at twelve times the rate of previous years, The Panic Room Company has said.
The units, which cost anywhere between £100,000 for an overground shelter and a “minimum” of £500,000 for an underground bunker, include water, ventilation, an independent generator and sleeping space. Some, the maker said, are installed with luxuries like wine racks, a gym and even a sauna.
Paul Weldon, director of The Panic Room Company, told City AM: “The reality of the Ukraine war really hit is in western Europe as it’s so close to home. We have seen enquiries in Europe… with clients expressing that they feel safe knowing they have a contingency plan… in the event that things escalate.”
Weldon, whose company has been operating for over two decades, added he now receives two to three enquiries a month, a sharp increase from the three to four enquiries he would get a year before the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Are nuclear bunkers now a perk of the rich?
The rising interest in a safety net among Britain’s elite is made all the starker by the decrease in shelters accessible to the public.
Currently, the UK is believed to have just 258 communal bunkers, which can provide refuge to 360,000 people.
This also contrasts sharply with other Western nations. Land-locked Switzerland has 360,000 shelters that could be used by the public, enough to accommodate its entire population.
Meanwhile, Finland, which shares a border with Russia, recently completed a nationwide inventory of its bomb shelters, which found it had 50,500 with capacity to hold 4.8m Finnish citizens.
Michael Duncan, whose boutique construction firm Gallery recently installed a bunker in Wimbledon, said of the uptick in interest: “It’s no surprise that in the current climate, those for whom installing a residential nuclear shelter is a viable option are deciding to build one.
“These spaces not only offer the ultimate level of protection during the event, but ongoing preservation of life in the aftermath of an attack. Each shelter is bespoke and designed, built and supplied to not only meet the base requirements of protection but also to meet the client’s needs and incorporate their luxuries!”