Could this become the UK’s most expensive number plate ever? It’s heading to auction for £1.2M

With the sale of ‘1F’ taking place next month, here’s a countdown of the 10 current most expensive number plates sold in the UK:

10. M1 – £331,500 (last sold in 2006)

The ‘M1’ registrations was purchased in June 2006 and is currently displayed on a Bentley.

Having sold almost 20 years ago, the value of the plate has reportedly increased to around £1million today, making this a very tidy investment indeed.

9. 1S – £340,000 (last sold in 2010)

Another two-digit plate with a six-figure sale price is ‘1S’, which was first publicly bought in March 2010.

It was instantly registered to a Rolls-Royce Phantom limo, which coincidentally would have had a similar starting price as the plate. But the plate value has likely doubled since, while the Phantom will have ultimately dramatically gone down in price. ‘1S’ isn’t currently registered on a vehicle.

8. 1D – £352,111 (last sold in 2009)

Given that One Direction formed a year after this sold, there’s no chance Harry Styles or any of the other boy band members snapped this one up. 

‘1D’ was sold in June 2009 for a whopping £352,411 but is worth well over half a million today. 

7. S1 – £404,603 (last sold in 2008)

For those born north of the border, the ‘S1’ plate has immense heritage. Issued in 1903, it was Scotland’s first number plate.

Lord Kingsburgh, one of the first people in Scotland to own a car, acquired the plate and it remained in his esteemed family for generations. However, the rare registration was most recently offered to collectors at auction in 2008, where it was bought for £404,603. Today, it is valued at seven figures.

6. SH 1 – £415,143 (last sold in April 2019)

The number plate ‘SH 1’ is one of the more recent registrations to be bought, having been offered at a an April 2019 DVLA auction.

It is currently registered to a Bentley Continental GT.

5. F1 – £440,625 (last sold in 2008)

Given the relation to the most famous motorsport category of all, ‘F1’ might arguably be the most desirable combination on this list.

It was bought in 2008 by car design company owner, Afzal Kahn – the London-based supercar turner who creates six-wheel Land Rover Defenders and modified Aston Martins.

The Kahn Design boss currently has it on his Bugatti Veyron and previous registered it to his Mercedes SLR. Before that, it was on a Volvo S80. If he were to sell it today, Kahn reckons he’d reject any offer below £10million – but says it isn’t for sale.

4. RR 1 – £472,000 (last sold in 2018) 

If there was a number plate destined for a luxurious motor, this is it. And, unsurprisingly, ‘RR 1’ is currently affixed to a Rolls-Royce Phantom.

It originally debuted in 1925 but last sold for a sturdy £472,000. Before then, it was bought in the 1960s for a mere £5,000. Another astute piece of business – and the current owner could expect to get half a million if they decided to part with it now. 

3. G1 – £500,000 (last sold in 2012)

‘G1’ held the record as Britain’s most expensive private plate for less than 12 months from 2012, before being pipped by just £2,500 by the number two plate in this list.

According to reports, the owner splurged on the registration having netted a £148million jackpot win in the Euromillions lottery. Since then, they’ve acquired a number of two-digit plates starting from 1 through to 9 combined with the letter ‘G’.

Experts have estimated it to be valued today at £1million.

2. X1 – £502,500 (last sold in 2012)

This plate was snapped up in November 2012 for £502,500.

It is currently being used on a hybrid Mercedes, though has likely doubled in value in the last decade or so.

1. 25 O – £518,480 (last sold in 2014)

As it currently stands, ’25 O’ is the UK’s priciest plate.

It went to the auction block in 2014 where the winning bidder – classic car dealer John Collins – paid a staggering £518,480. It has since been fitted to one of the most expensive cars ever sold at auction, a Jo Schlesser-raced Ferrari 250 GTO, which sold for £30,750,300. 

DVLA records show it is now used on a LaFerrari hypercar.