A UK businesswoman has set up a service to help ease wealthy women through the pain and uncertainty of separation and divorce. The ex-wives ...

A UK businesswoman has set up a service to help ease wealthy women through the pain and uncertainty of separation and divorce. The ex-wives club will provide such services as “life coaching” and fashion advice. Called Talaka, which means divorce in Swahili, the club was set up by Sue Liburd, who said that wealthy women often lack the support networks that help divorcées of more modest means through the trauma of breaking up. But the cost of membership does not come cheat—upwards of £25,000 ($45,488) a year. The most basic membership fee, the rugby club, is £6,000 a year. In an interview with the London-based Times, Ms Liburd, who has never married, said: “Because they have money, people assume they can just get on with their lives and don’t need any help. “Often their most important professional relationship has been with their divorce lawyer but once that has been concluded the lawyer wants to end the relationship.” Miss Liburd said that a network of lawyers, merchant bankers, insurance brokers and financial advisers will point suitable candidates in the direction of Talaka. The only qualification required is a £1 million-plus divorce settlement. Although the club, which has a London office, is not intended to go “live” until July, Ms Liburd, who works from Bristol, says she has two members, one at the start of a painful divorce, the other at the end. In 2003, the latest year there are figures for, there were 166,700 divorces, compared with 160,700 the previous year. The club will give women access to psychologists, hairdressers, spending and styling workshops, free jewellery and a 24-hour concierge service, depending on their membership level. Also on offer is an initial consultation with a life coach, who will decide what support is needed and tailor a package of services. The club will arrange frequent social engagements, where the wealthy divorcées can enjoy champagne lunches, pamper sessions and shopping trips to Harrods. Luncheon venues include Harrods and the Dorchester