Exclusive number plates have held a high value in the UK for a long time, a trend which continues. People have various reasons to spend big on personalised number plates. Whether an exclusive number plate is a status symbol or holds sentimental significance, these items have found their place among other valuable investor assets, including jewellery, artworks, etc.
Having said this, you may wonder which personalised number plates have fetched the most money in the UK. According to Motoreg, the personalised number plate valuation experts where you can find a plate, the fewer digits a number plate has, the more valuable it becomes. Some private number plates in the UK have sold for outrageous amounts. Here are the ten most expensive registrations sold to date:
1. Registration Plate 25 O
The most expensive private number plate ever sold in the UK is 25 O. It fetched a staggering £518,480 at a 2014 auction. Fittingly, it was initially fitted to a Ferrari 250 GTO, one of the most expensive cars ever sold at auction.
DVLA records show that a more modern Ferrari now hosts the plate – the hybrid LaFerrari.
2. Registration Plate X 1
The personalised number plate X 1 comes second, selling for £502,500 late in 2012. No one knows much about the plate’s owner, but DVLA records show it’s registered to a hybrid Mercedes purchased early in 2024. Expert estimates say the plate’s value has almost doubled by now. It would be interesting to know if the plate was ever used for a BMW X1.
3. Registration Plate G 1
Until the exclusive registration X1 sale, G1 was the most expensive private number plate ever sold at £500,126. It’s registered to a Land Rover Defender with a V8 engine bought in 2024. Personalised number plate valuations estimate that the owners could fetch double what they paid for this plate. Interestingly, its owner collected two-digit number plates with the letter G and numbers between one and nine.
4. Registration Plate RR 1
RR1 was initially issued in 1925. Its owners paid £472,000 for it in September 2018. However, before its sale, the last time it changed hands was almost five decades back, fetching £5000. The plate now resides on a Rolls Royce Phantom, and according to Motoreg, this personalised number plate valuation is about £500,000.
5. Registration Plate F 1
Without a doubt, F1 is a very desirable registration plate. It fetched £440,625 in 20008. Its current owner is Afzal Kahn. The Kahn entrepreneur founded several companies, including Kahn Design, and used the registration plate on his Bugatti Veyron. Before that, it was used on a Volvo S80. Even though Kahn has said he would want over £10m for the exclusive plate, Motoreg assures us the expensive private number plate is not currently up for sale.
6. Registration Plate SH 1
The exclusive registration plate SHI reached the exuberant amount of £415,143 in 2019. It’s fitted to a Bentley Continental GT. The combination of letters and numbers is a mystery, but they must mean something to their owner.
7. Registration Number S 1
As Scotland’s first-ever registration plate, S1 was issued to the first person to buy a car there in 1903 – Lord Kingsburgh. The number plate stayed with his family for generations until an anonymous bidder paid £404,063 in 2008, saying he wanted it for his Skoda. DVLA records show it’s registered to a Rolls Royce Spectre. Its current evaluation stands at over a million pounds.
8. Registration Plate 1 D
The registration plate fetched £352,411 in June 2009 and is currently used on a Bentley Bentayga, valued at about half of today’s plate value of £500k.
9. Registration Plate 1 S
The 1 S plate fetched £340,000 in March 2010 and was used on a Rolls-Royce Phantom, but there’s no current registration for its use on any vehicle. According to an expert personalised number plate valuation, its estimated value has since doubled.
10. Registration Plate M 1
The owner of M1 purchased the exclusive plate for £331,500 in 2006 for a Flying Spur Bentley. Since then, its value has reached one million pounds.
The correct expensive private number plate valuation remains vital when determining the value of private plates. The more exclusive the number plate, the larger the demand and the higher the asking price.
Contact Motoreg today for unbeatable prices and no hidden costs if you want professional personalised number plate valuation.
Go to our home page to search for a plate, or call 024 7640 7604 to discuss anything private with us.
