Number Plate Stories
The rise of the new style numbers
By Ruby Speechley
Peter Doherty from Hayes, Middlesex was quick to understand this early on. He went to the website Ask Jeeves and used its online crossword solver. “It came up with a list of twelve words,” says Peter, an Architect by trade. “I wanted DE51 GNS, DE51 RED or DE51 RES ideally, but I found out they’d already been sold.” He eventually decided on PO51 BLY for his Mercedes Convertible, but is already re-selling the plate, hoping to make a profit.
One plate that is destined to become a classic in years to come, is AR53 NAL. Stephen Downes, an Arsenal fan from Essex paid a groundbreaking £45,000 for this much sought after plate at an auction in October 2004. It is by far the highest price ever paid for a new style number.
The footballer, Emile Heskey was quick off the mark to find his surname HE51 KEY amongst the first that were issued. But former England cricket captain Nasser Hussein has been a bit shy in coming forward for NA51 SER.
One of the advantages of having a gap between the fourth and fifth characters is that sometimes two words can be made. Patrick Clacy, owner of ‘And so to bed’, a luxury hand made bed specialist in Oxford, says he was looking for a number plate to finish off the look of his new company van. “I thought CO51 BED was a fun plate to have and would be noticed while we’re out on our deliveries,” he said, “I think the plate will help us to stick in people’s minds.”
As of July 2005, The Driver’s Vehicle Licensing Agency report a profit of over £70m from the sale of new style numbers since the start in 2001. So it is definitely time to get ahead of the competition and work out what good plates are still to come. You could buy CH31 SEA, PR35 TON or GL45 GOW…but you’ll have to wait a few years for those!
