macflea,
although I can't speak from personal experience, i know a lot of guys who have done their IMC as part of their hour building and they said it was a very worthwhile license to have.
I'd take a moment and actually tot up how much the difference between hour building is abroad. Bearing in mind you can get a Cessna 150 for £35 an hour wet and a 172 for not much more, even when you take transport and accomodation into account you can still save money!
Horgy