8th October saw the release of the last batch of prefix numbers that had previously been withheld by DVLA. 'F' prefix registration numbers from 1 to 20 went on sale on Wednesday morning, and phone lines were immediately swamped by an unprecedented volume of calls. A reported call rate of 40,000 attempts per hour kept operators extremely busy as they struggled to keep up with demand.

As always, Regtransfers was amongst the most successful callers, securing many choice registrations on behalf of clients who knew that their best chance of securing the number they wanted was to harness the power of Regtransfers' dedicated buy-in teams.

As has been seen elsewhere, there are strong signs that the number plates market remains vibrant and healthy despite economic uncertainty in many other areas. Revenue achieved from 'F' prefix sales had reached almost £3.5 million within 10 hours, setting a new record for a release of this kind.

Yet more evidence of robustness in the private registrations market is seen in the array of quality number plates that have been sold in the last few weeks. Many of you will have been aware of the media interest in S 1, which sold at auction for a fantastic £404,000, thus becoming the second most expensive UK car registration ever sold. The current record holder is still Afzal Kahn's famous F 1 plate, for which the businessman paid £440,625.

Another top flight sale was that of 6 B; a terrific plate which realised almost £130,000. At the slightly less ambitious end of the spectrum, sales of mid-priced registrations remain lively. Amongst those recently are: OWN 1T (£33,174), SYR 1A (£25,974), CAR 111E (£13,343), 85 A (£13,217), MRA 511F (£12,838), 84 CM (£12,332), LOV 11T (£11,196), SHR 3D (£10,817) and one of particular interest to Top Gear viewers, THE 571G sold for £10,690.