Personalised Registrations as an Investment
A survey published by the Daily Telegraph in 2013 reported between 10% and 20% appreciation in value for personalised number plates within the UK.
With this in mind, providing you select your personalised registration carefully there will be a healthy return should you wish to sell the registration at a future point in time.
The advice we would offer in this instance is to always set your budget realistically and to consider all the alternative personalised registrations available within this budget. Your choice of format will influence price and always remember that there are usually several ways of achieving the desired result.
We believe dateless number plates and name related personalised registrations provide a good investment opportunity for the future although we would always recommend talking to a reputable company with the relevant experience and expertise for advice.
Registration Rarety and Value are Directly Related
The rarety of a personalised number plate will determine its value to a large extent although other factors play a part. Remember exclusivity relates directly to desireability and to value within the market.
If you are unsure about the value of a registration then ask the experts by requesting a number plate valuation. This will remove any uncertainty before you make your investment decision.
Personalised number plates are by definition a personalised item but in many cases the personalisation will apply to other people. The popularity of the association with others will always be a factor in determining future values and we would recommend you consider this when selecting your personal number plate.
Exclusive History of Private Registrations
If a registration number has exclusive history then this will add to the value - particularly if the number has been owned by someone famous or if the number has previously been assigned to a famous vehicle. An example of this would be PAT 1 where this registration is recognised for its association with Postman Pat a television series in the 1980's. Other examples of registrations that have an association with a celebrity or a person of fame are COM 1C owned by comedian Jimmy Tarbuck, MAG 1C owned by magician Paul Daniels, CUE 1 owned by snooker player Terry Griffiths, VIP 1 owned by Chelsea football club owner Roman Abromovich and AMS 1 owned by businessman Alan Sugar.
Valuing Private Registrations
Private Number Plate Value
The following criteria can be applied in selecting a personalised number plate as an investment: a) Is the registration number of a dateless format and an early issue registration with letters first? b) Is the registration a short number with letters first and with a low numerical combination for example. AB 1 c) Are the letters within the registration popular initials for potential buyers? d) Is the registration distinctive in terms of it having repeat letters and/or numbers? e) Does the registration have history and has the registration been owned by someone famous? f) Does the registration relate to a business name or an individuals name? g) Has the registration been auctioned at some point and reached a high value? h) Is there a shortage of this combination of letters on the market and were a small number of these combinations issued?
A combination of these factors will ultimately determine the value of a number plate in the UK.
There are a number of high profile number plates sold at auctions in recent years and the highest prices have been achieved for the dateless short format numbers including; F 1, S 1, C 1, and 25 O
Prices for these numbers have exceeded £400k and the plate F 1 has been quoted to be worth in excess of £6 million.
As an example of how private number plates increase in value we have referenced a small selection of registrations with their purchase values and their current market values.
