The UK’s 10 Most Expensive Number Plates
At Primo Registrations, we always make sure that our personalised number plates are at the cheapest possible price, but for some people cost isn’t a factor. In fact, for some people, the pricier the better!
Read more: Number Plates of The Rich And Famous
Around the world you’ll find some absolutely ridiculous sums being placed on number plates – like Saeed Abdul Ghaffar Khouri from Abu Dhabi who spent £7 million on the plate “1” – so, what can you expect to see from the UK? Let’s find out!
#1
Number Plate: 25 0
Price: £518,000
This plate was bought at auction by a Ferrari Trader who bought it to put on his rare Ferrari 250 SWB that was previously owned by Eric Clapton. To date, this is the most expensive plate that has ever been sold by the DVLA and by quite a significant margin.
#2
Number Plate: F1
Price: £440,000
A letter-number combination that is widely recognised worldwide for its connection to the most popular racing sport on Earth – Formula 1.
You might think that a famous racing star may have bagged this plate, but it was actually snapped up by entrepreneur Afzal Khan who has since turned down an offer of £6million for the plate!
#3
Number Plate: S1
Price: £397,500
It was the first ever number plate to be issued in Scotland and was originally owned by Sir John HA MacDonald, but in 2008 it was bought by an anonymous buyer to be put on a Skoda. Yes, a Skoda. That means that even if it was the very top of the line model, the plate would cost 10 times the price of the vehicle.
#4
Number Plate: 1D
Price: £352,411
Surprisingly not bought by a member of One Direction, but actually purchased by Nabil Bishara in 2009 to be put on his wife’s Bentley. If this number plate goes on sale again you can almost guarantee that it will shoot straight to the top of this list, either due to a bidding war between the band members or getting snapped up by an uber-rich fan.
#5
Number Plate: M 1
Price: £330,000
Self-made multi-millionaire Mike McComb snapped up the prestigious “M1” plate for £330k in 2006, supposedly for his son’s sixth birthday. That means that if it is going to be on his son’s car, you may be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of this plate in the next year or so. Although chances are that Mike has probably been using them himself for the last couple of years!
#6
Number Plate: VIP 1
Price: £285,000
One seems to be the number that everyone is willing to pay for, and Roman Abramovich is no exception. This number plate was initially commissioned specifically for Pope John Paul II’s visit to Ireland but was eagerly bought up by the Chelsea boss back in 2006.
#7
Number Plate: GS 1
Price: £258,775
This number plate wowed the auctioneer when it was sold in 2005 as it was only expected to fetch a third of the price that it did. The plate was initially registered in 1928 and at the auction it was sold at, it was primarily held for antiques, making this a very interesting story.
#8
Number Plate: 51 NGH
Price: £254,000
A great match to the popular last name “Singh” this dateless number plate sold for just over a quarter of a million pounds in 2006. Unbelievably, that’s two and a half times more than its younger brother “S1 NGH” went for at auction – this shows just how much the year of issue can make to the price of plates.
#9
Number Plate: 1 RH
Price: £247,652
Sometimes even level-headed businessmen get ahead of themselves in auction, going above and beyond their expected budget. Robert Harverson wanted to buy 1 RH regardless of the price tag is carried, meaning that he blew his budget to get it, but now he has it and is as happy as can be!
#10
Number Plate: K1 NGS
Price: £231,000
Sold in 1993, at the time it was the most expensive plate that has ever been sold but now two decades on it barely makes the top ten. This royal plate was allegedly purchased by an Arab Sultan although the true identity is nameless.
Why don’t you find out how much your dream plates are worth by using our clever search bar?
Read More: Prohibited Plates: The Banned and the Ugly
