Ace,
Bet you got more than you bargained for - welcome to PPRUNE!
It is worth considering all options - I considered this one myself but was very reluctant and fortunately I've just got my first jet job so didn't have to do it. It can be done!!
Points to consider:-
40k gbp is a lot of money to BURN. It's not like buying a Porsche where you'll get 80-90% of the money back - you're really SPENDING the money - it's not really an investment - it's gone. And on a pilots salary, you'll never get it back. I think you really need to have a net worth of at least 500K GBP to justify blowing 10% of your net worth on something like this. (Extra 10k is because you have to live for the 6 months as well!) To justify this, as well as having the cash, I think you need to be an older wannabee as well. If you're under 35, what's the rush? - wait for the upturn or do instructing, try the CTC ATP scheme etc.
Apart from the money - other issues are:- Are Eaglejet trustworthy?, what's the airline that you'll line train with like?, are they a well-respected JAR airline, what legal recourse do you have if things go wrong. Also, once you've been flying for a year or two and the initial thrill is wearing off, you may feel like a schmuck for having spent so much money for the privellege of getting up at 4am to fly beered up blokes to Malaga!
Apart from the practical/money issues - you can see from some of the responses that many senior pilots really look down on this sort of thing as undermining the T&Cs for all pilots. I agree to an extent but think that market forces are just too big for any communal sense of morality to counter - when things pick up again, market forces will again put schemes like this on the back burner until the next recession. HOWEVER, you may find you are on the other side of the table at an interview with a captain who holds such a viewpoint - something else to think about..
Basically my thoughts are go for it if you:-
a) Know you are good and will pass
b) Are satisfied you have legal protection for your money
c) Have a very high net worth
d) Are over 35
otherwise, it doesn't make sense IMHO - good luck.