Brand name on a car

Theo Paphitis from BBC 2’s surprise hit Dragon’s Den is as sharp as they come. Not only does he have a proven track record for running successful businesses, he has an equally impressive history of turning ‘lame duck’ projects into dynamic money-spinners. Familiar high street brands such as Ryman, Contessa, La Senza and Partners the Stationers are all success stories thanks to Paphitis.

It may surprise some people to discover that Theo Paphitis owns not one, but several personal car registrations. There are still those who do not grasp the value of a top quality custom registration as a marketing and branding tool. Fortunately, Theo Paphitis is way ahead of the pack in this regard, as in so many others! Furthermore, he appreciates the difference between spot-on and second best. There are several character combinations that approximate the name Ryman, but Paphitis insisted on RYM4N. Visually, it is immediately obvious what it says, and thus us the best representation of Ryman available on a UK number plate. A very striking example of a top quality custom car registration number.

With big business and top executives seeing the potential of number plates for PR, and with celebrities investing in whole sets of premium personalised plates for their families, it is obvious that cherished plate awareness and popularity is still growing at a spectacular rate.

First Honk Kong number plate auction

The first auction of car number plates in Hong Kong took place this month, raising over HK$11m (£750,000). Plates sold at the auction include "HANDSOME", "K1NG", and the pricy "1 LOVE U" which sold for HK$1.8m (£123,000).

Plates with Chinese connotations were also very popular at the auction, with the plate "CCUE", which sounds like "see see yu yee" - a Cantonese phrase meaning "everything goes according to one's will", sold for HK$610,000 (£41,650).

The Personalized Vehicle Registration Marks Scheme, which spends its revenue on projects for the poor, is expected to generate almost £5m. This is despite less than 40% of all adults in Hong Kong owning a car.

The all-time highest price paid for a personalised number plate was HK$13m (£890,000), for a simple "9", signifying longevity in Cantonese.