Number plates as an investment

Sit back and watch your plates soar in value..

As you may have read in our free magazine, the last few weeks and months have seen some very impressive number plate sales. Visitors to our website may have seen our video coverage of the auctions of 1 HRH and 1 O, which sold for £113,815 and £210,242 respectively. However, even those fine performers were upstaged by 1 RH, which hogged the limelight at £247,952.

Business people and entrepreneurs have joined the celebrity ranks thanks to TV programmes such as Dragons’ Den and The Apprentice, and it is striking how many of these successful and astute individuals are private plate owners.

Partly inspired by the growing number of spectacular prices that have hit the headlines in recent years, more and more purchasers seem to be selecting their car registration purchases with a speculative eye. For some buyers future profit is becoming as important, or more important, a consideration than immediate amusement or enjoyment.

Competition (popularity/demand)

Let's use initials as our example. There is a larger potential market, and thus more demand, for registrations containing the initials JS than for those containing UY. There are many John and Jane Smiths competing for each JS number, but very few Ulysses Youngs looking for UY plates

Exclusivity

The large sums paid for 'number 1' plates such as F 1, 1 RH, 1 HRH and 1 O reflect the relative scarcity of such registrations. Not only is the number of these plates limited, but owners are often reluctant to part with them

Visual impact

The more closely a registration number resembles a name or word, the more desirable it is and,consequently, the more valuable. For many words and names there are several possible ways to represent them on a car registration. The best approximation will be the most valuable.

Plates such as the one pictured on the classic Jaguar above can fetch considerable amounts in auction. These plates are much sought after and can make an attractive portfolio for keen investors.

Return On Investments

Partly inspired by the growing number of spectacular prices that have hit the headlines in recent years, more and more purchasers seem to be selecting their car registration purchases with a speculative eye.