Also don't be fooled at the cost. 40 hours sim or actual are just the mins. You can easliy go over that. I have had loads of instrument students in the US and found that whatever they put into there PPL is what it took in the instrument, just seemed to work out that way. That's the part they don't like to tell you. As far as the the conversion, I'll assume your flying experience wouldn't be a bunch, flying a twin IFR can get busy so even with good skills it still takes awhile to get up to speed in the UK. I converted my FAA IR and thought the JAR IR was a wholelot easier but I also had the experience to bakc it up. Just food for thought on the hours issue!!