VIP 1

World record number plate sold to Roman Abramovich

VIP 1, which was recently sold for a world record £285,000 was bought by Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich, we can reveal. The 39-year-old is estimated to be worth £10.8 billion.

The plate, which was originally made for Pope John Paul II, was purchased by the Russian billionaire from Regtransfers.co.uk earlier this year for the world record amount. The plate was first seen on the Popemobile in 1979 on John Paul II's tour of Ireland.

Regtransfers.co.uk originally offered the equally prestigious X 1 plate to Abramovich, but he instead opted for VIP 1 which will now take pride of place on one of his many luxury cars. X 1 still remains with Regtransfers.co.uk at an asking price of £500,000.

A source close to Abramovich said: "Roman is normally extremely security-conscious but the lure of owning what has been described as the most exclusive number plate in the world was simply too much for him. The only problem now is to decide which of his scores of luxurious cars to put it on."