Premier plate for Wolves fans could land DVLA with windfall
FOOTBALL fans in Wolverhampton looking for a four-wheel tribute to their favourite club could provide a major windfall for the DVLA.
The licensing agency’s Personalised Registrations operation is targeting supporters in the West Midlands for its latest auction, which takes place at the Heritage Motor Museum in Gaydon over three days, starting on Thursday.
Going under the hammer will be the plate WO11 VES. The registration, the closest currently available to Wolves, is among 1,550 plates being auctioned by the DVLA.
If previous football-related registrations are anything to go by, WO11 VES – which has a £1,000 reserve – could prove to be a hot property. Following a fierce bidding battle in March this year, HU11 CTY sold for £46,700 and at the same auction held in Leeds, BO11 TON also went under the hammer for £5,500. WE57 HAM, which sold for £57,000 in October 2007, is currently the most expensive football-related registration auctioned by the agency.
Jody Davies, DVLA Personalised Registrations’ Events Manager, said: “Football supporters are truly passionate about their clubs and many have gone to great lengths in the past to show their devotion by buying a personalised registration, hopefully, thanks to our WO11 VES registration, Wolves could well be elevated into our own Premier League of registrations we’ve sold.”
Fans of football clubs based in the Midlands have shown their dedication for their respective teams by previously buying personalised registrations from the DVLA; V1 LLA (Aston Villa), ALB 10N (West Bromwich Albion) and DER 8Y (Derby) selling for £35,000, £19,500 and £14,500 respectively while 1 WBA (West Bromwich Albion) and FOR 35T (Nottingham Forest) each fell under the hammer for £8,400 and £3,100.
While not solely for football fans, the auction will also have the plate WA11 YNE up for grabs, although Manchester Utd supporters may want to wait until the pre-season transfer merry-go-round has concluded before splashing out.
Ms Davies added: “While WO11 VES will undoubtedly prove popular, we have registrations with reserves ranging from £250 for A113 GRO, which is perfect for a fan of the old Austin Allegro car, through to £5,000 set for 19 O.”
