A licence plate has sold for a staggering £287,000 – three times as much as a brand-new Porsche 911 and £50,000 more expensive than the average UK home.
The plate, ‘IG 1’, was purchased by retired businessman Ian Guest at a DVLA auction today.
It is the third highest price paid for a personalised registration in the DVLA’s 30-year history – and one of the most expensive in the UK.
Ian, who was accompanied by his wife Pamela at the auction, described the feeling of entering a winning bid as “incredible”.
He said: “When the price went to £100,000 everything really became a haze.
“My wife expected me to pay between £240,000 and £260,000 but I never thought it would go so high.
“That said, I drove down with a limit of £400,000 in mind.”
Ian, from Barnard Castle, in Teesdale, Co Durham, bought the plate for a ‘hammer price’ of £222,000, but the final price rose to £287,792 with buyer’s premium and VAT.
The DVLA Personalised Registrations’ 30th Anniversary auction was held at The Vale Resort near Cardiff.
Ian was determined to purchase ‘IG 1’ for his prized Bentley Continental GT Speed – because it is the “ultimate registration” for his initials.
But it is the last available licence plate which uses just two letters and a single number.
The most expensive plate sold by the DVLA is ‘25 O’, bought for £518,000 with fees in 2014.
The second most expensive is ‘1 D’ which sold for £352,000 with fees in 2009.
‘25 O’ was bought by Ferrari dealer John Collins in 2014 – and is thought to take place on a Ferrari 250SWB once owned by Eric Clapton, worth around £10million.
The latter was bought a year before pop group One Direction formed – by Lebanese businessman Nabil Bishara.
Jody Davies, DVLA Personalised Registrations’ senior sales manager, said: “DVLA is delighted with the huge interest in IG 1 and its selling price reflect that.
“Mr Guest and his wife are a lovely couple and we just hope they enjoy it.”