14 June 2000
SAM FOSTER 'HAMMERS' HOME A CONTRACT THAT WILL RAISE MILLIONS OF POUNDS FOR TREASURY
Minister for the Environment, Mr Sam Foster, today announced that Wilson's Auctions, Mallusk have won the prestigious contract to auction attractive vehicle registration number plates. New DOE's Driver and Vehicle Licensing Northern Ireland (DVLNI) has, since 1996, auctioned the most attractive number plates, which in turn has helped raise millions of pounds for Government.
In signing the contract in a vintage car at City Hall, Belfast, Sam Foster said: "I am very pleased that Wilson's Auctions, Mallusk, has been awarded this contract. Sale of registration numbers has proved very popular to date. Since the contract commenced, over 8,600 numbers have been sold, raising £5.4 million. Approximately 2,000 registrations are sold per year. Names such as EIL (Eileen), FIL (Phil), GIL (Gillian), GAZ (Gary), HAZ (Hazel), HIL, JIL, LIL, SIB (Sybil) are very popular and the highest bid to date has been £22,000 for OIL 1. Although the highest priced numbers attract the public's attention, many auction numbers sell for around £300. Other lower value numbers are sold by tender and again there is a keen interest in the sale.
"You don't need to spend lots of money to get your own personalised number."
The first auction under the new contract will be held on 28 June 2000 at Wilson's Mallusk. Examples of the attractive registration marks for sale are RIL 1, MIL 1, and SXI 1.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
philip.j.maguire@doeni.gov.uk
- Wilson's Auctions are based at 22 Mallusk Road, Newtownabbey and can be contacted at 028 9096 9007.
- Environment Minister Sam Foster along with Brendan Magee Chief Executive DVLNI and Ian Wilson Managing Director Wilson's Auction, will be available for a photo opportunity and interview at 9.30 am Wednesday 14 June at City Hall, Belfast, in a vintage car.
- For further information, please contact Philip Maguire, DOE Press Office, 028 9054 0013, email