Investing

Investing in Number Plates

By Ruby Speechley

The Observer claimed back in October 1965, that there were ‘only 4 – 5,000 special plates in existence.’ It said that they were ‘difficult to come by, unless you are willing to pay as much as you might for a valuable painting.’ Today the best plates are still relatively hard to come by, but it is still possible to find a competitively priced number that will make you a healthy profit. Marion Money managed it, living up to her name in the process. She paid £7,500 for 1 MPM in 1998 and sold it recently for £25,000.

If you are lucky enough to own a good quality number, do you know how much it is worth? Like Steve Baptist from Lancashire, you may not realise that it has probably risen in value. He was pleased with his purchase of 6 SB for £8,000 but was surprised when he was stopped in a car park and offered £18,000 for it. “I will be watching its value with interest over the next few years,” he said.

Ivan Scott, also from Lancashire, started collecting number plates as a hobby until he realised their potential for investment. “At the moment I have OVA 1, 11 YS and 3 VN,” he said, “I waited 17 years for 1 VY (Ivy is my nickname) but someone offered me a substantial sum of money for it. I couldn’t turn the offer down, so I sold it just 18 months later. It was then that I thought more about investing money in number plates.”