Ardencote Auction Round-up

If there are any green shoots of economic recovery to be found, the best place to look for them might have been in Warwickshire last week.

The latest DVLA auction at the ancient Ardencote Manor, revealed a world seemingly immune to the current fiscal uncertainties.

The highlight of the three-day event came early, on the very first day, when the chance to display 1 D was offered to the highest bidder. There were clearly high hopes of a head-turning result when the reserve of £20,000 was announce, but few could have envisaged the scale of the interest generated when successive bids vied for victory.

The winning post was finally passed at no less than £285k. However, because of auction fees and taxes liable on the sale price, the successful player will be looking at a total bill in excess of £352k before claiming his prize possession.

1 D now sits just behind the all-conquering S 1 and F 1 in the roll-call of the UK's priciest plates. The 'Formula One' plate, F 1, changed hands earlier in 2009 for a record transaction involving more than £440k.

Over 900 lots were contested between Wednesday 25th and Friday 27th March and a fascinating variety of names, words and initials were fought over.

Here are some examples (with gross cost):

The last day produced a splendid finale with the quirky 2 O taking a curtain call at £115,000. Again, this price will be subject to additional costs and will end up setting the new owner back some £142k before completion of the deal.

The market in quality number plates has always operated on a somewhat parallel plane to that of mainstream investment options. Successive historic sales such as those witnessed at the Ardencote auction can easily be interpreted, however, as cementing the establishment of a real alternative fiscal strategy.

Further reading:

Big Spenders
Detailed statistics covering number plate sales world-wide are discussed in this intriguing page.

The Alternative Investment
If you wish to find out more about the way in which number plates could be the right investment choice for you, please read this special feature.

Back to News Index