AB 1 And UK Most Expensive Reg Plates

Personalised registration plate demand boomed in Britain in 2017.

A whopping 374,968 private personalised plates were sold and registered in the UK over the course of last year - an increase of 12 per cent over a 12 month period.

A few weeks ago, what is perceived to be the most expensive numberplate in the world went on sale in Britain.

British automotive designer, Afzal Kahn, put his prized ‘F1’ plate on sale in Britain.

The plate was listed at £12,250,270.83, which will increase to £14,700,405.00 once compulsory Government Charges are added.

Now, another number plate has gone on sale on the private registration plate site for £10,086,666.

The plate in question spells ‘SIII EKH’ or ‘Sheikh’, which is expected to attract lot of interest from the Gulf region, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia explains owner Shakheel Ahmed explains.

After owning the plates for 20 years, he believed it was the right time to sell them on.

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Unique number plate goes on sale in the UK for £10,000,000 - Here’s what it says
A RARE personalised number plate has gone on sale in the UK for a whopping £10 million. Here’s what the plate says.
By LUKE JOHN SMITH
PUBLISHED: 08:41, Wed, Apr 25, 2018 | UPDATED: 08:41, Wed, Apr 25, 2018

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Number plateGETTY

A number plate has gone on sale in the UK for over £10million
Personalised registration plate demand boomed in Britain in 2017.

A whopping 374,968 private personalised plates were sold and registered in the UK over the course of last year - an increase of 12 per cent over a 12 month period.

A few weeks ago, what is perceived to be the most expensive numberplate in the world went on sale in Britain.

British automotive designer, Afzal Kahn, put his prized ‘F1’ plate on sale in Britain on Plates4Less.

The World's Most Expensive Cars for 2017
Wed, February 15, 2017
These are the super cars with price tags that exceed the $1 million mark.

PLAY SLIDESHOW
10. Apollo Arrow: $1,100,000 GETTY IMAGES1 of 10
10. Apollo Arrow: $1,100,000
10. Apollo Arrow: $1,100,000
9. Mazzanti Evantra Millecavalli: $1,200,000
8. Ferrari LaFerrari Aptera: $1,400,000
7. Arash AF10 Hybrid: $1,500,000
6. Zenvo TS1: $1,800,000
5. Koenigsegg Regera: $1,900,000
4. Bugatti Chiron: $2,700,000
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The plate was listed at £12,250,270.83, which will increase to £14,700,405.00 once compulsory Government Charges are added.

Now, another number plate has gone on sale on the private registration plate site for £10,086,666.

The plate in question spells ‘SIII EKH’ or ‘Sheikh’, which is expected to attract lot of interest from the Gulf region, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia explains owner Shakheel Ahmed explains.

After owning the plates for 20 years, he believed it was the right time to sell them on.

What do UK number plates prefixes mean?
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Mr Ahmed first purchased the plates back in 1998, when the ’S’ registration was released.

In addition to the SII EKH plate he is also selling his ‘S4UDY’ or ‘Saudi’ number plate for £1million.

He described the plates as the “ultimate status symbol” and said it would be nice to see the plates bought by a Saudi national, rather than a non Saudi national.

"In the Arab world status is everything and no 2 plates are ever the same, so the buyers will never get a chance to buy a number plate once it has gone," Mr Ahmed explained.

"The world of the elite is a combination of excess wealth, materialism and a need for status.

"Part of it is showing off their presence - 'here we are, we are different, we can get what others cannot get, we can live differently'. It’s a form of an statement.

"They want to be privileged, they want to stand out, they want to be able to show off, particularly among the increasing number of wealthy expatriates. Having distinctive plates is a shorthand for 'we have money'."

"A billionaire can make a statement, For the average person, they cannot. Lord Sugar number plate AMS 1 is known worldwide.

"He too is a billionaire. Dubai ruler has the number 1 plate. He is also a billionaire."

AN INVESTIGATION into the controversial sale of an historic police numberplate has criticised West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion for ‘effectively ignoring’ a higher offer made days after it was withdrawn from sale.

Despite clearing Mr Campion of any acting dishonestly, the West Mercia Police and Crime Panel criticised him for failing to achieve the best value for ‘AB1’ after it was sold to former force chief constable Paul West for £160,000 despite initally putting it up for action.

The report revealed the £160,000 included VAT meaning £133,000 was raised from the sale.

AB1 was the first vehicle registration number plate issued to the county in 1903 but was withdrawn in 2011 due to security concerns associated with having such an easily identifiable mark on the Chief Constable’s vehicle.

Auctioneers Brightwells were instructed to sell AB1 on June 15 but just a day after it was marketed on July 17 Mr West made his offer directly and AB1 was withdrawn from sale the following day.

Panel chiefs assessed whether Mr Campion had the right to sell AB1, whether he improperly sold the numberplate to a friend or someone closely connected and whether the best value for taxpayers was achieved.

“The panel was satisfied the PCC had the right to sell AB1. Whether it was appropriate to sell off the ‘family silver’ was a matter of judgement for the PCC to make.

“There was no evidence it was improper for the PCC to be involved in the sale of AB1 to the purchaser, as there was no evidence the purchaser was a friend of the PCC or closely connected to him.

The report noted an offer of £305,000 was made by a Worcestershire resident was made on July 15 after seeing it advertised in the Daily Telegraph and Mr Campion confirmed he’d recieved an e-mail confirming the sum on July 19 but didn’t consider it a firm bid.

“The panel was very concerned although it was said there had been regional marketing, the first and only national marketing had taken place on July 15, the purchaser’s offer received on July 17, AB1 withdrawn from sale on July 18, and the much higher potential offer was received on July 19 the very next day yet effectively ignored.

“The PCC stated he considered he was legally bound to accept the purchaser’s offer. With hindsight he accepted it would have been better to have continued negotiations with the person offering £305k.”

The report concluded the sale had not been done in the most effective way and the potential for more money for taxpayers had been lost.

“The PCC had been somewhat naïve in putting himself in this position and processes should be improved to ensure best value is received for sale of assets in the future,” it added.

In response, Mr Campion said: ““The panel’s report is clear I had the right to sell the registration, that the sale was conducted with integrity and it was sold to the person who made the highest bid while AB1 was on the market. The panel’s recommendations are noted.”

So what are the top selling number plates in the UK? The DVLA has been selling private plates to UK motorists since 1989. During this time, there have been a number of records set, but most of the top 10 have been bought in the past 15 years. Here’s what currently makes the list:

25 0 – A Ferrari dealer bought this for £518k in 2014. It is now on a £10 million Ferrari 250 SWB.
F 1 – A businessman, Afzal Khan, bought this for £440k in 2008 and put it on his McLaren-Mercedes SLR.
S 1 – This was bought in 2008 for £404k by an anonymous buyer.
1 D – Businessman Nabil Bishara bought this plate in 2009 (before One Direction was formed, so it is not a reference to the band) for £352k.
M 1 – Businessman Mike McCoomb bought this number plate in 2006 for £331k, apparently for his son, who was 10 at the time.
VIP 1 – Chelsea owner and businessman Roman Abramovich bought this plate for £285k in 2006.
51 NGH – This number plate, which looks like the surname Singh, was sold in 2006 for £254k.
1 RH – Businessman Robert Haverson bought this in 2006 for £247k.
K1 NGS – This reg plate, which looks like the word “kings”, was bought anonymously in 1993 for £231k.
1 0 – This very simple but striking number plate was bought anonymously in 2009 for £170k.

These are large amounts of money, but they are all small compared to the top-selling number plates found in other parts of the world. Abu Dhabi, in the UAE, has the record for the most expensive number plate ever sold. That number plate was a simple “1”. It was bought in 2008 by businessman Saeed Abdul Ghaffar Khouri for £7.25 million.

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