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Big rise in cherished registration number sales

Thu, 11 Jan 2018

The amount of cherished registration numbers being bought for vehicles from the Manx Government is five times higher than in 2013.

The Department of Infrastructure revealed 472 numbers were sold through the Government's Online Services during the 2016-17 financial year, up from 84 during the 2012-13 period.

Despite the five-fold increase in purchases, the value of the sales is less than double, with the majority of the sales coming in the cheapest price categories.

In 2013, numbers worth just under £49,000 were sold, while last year's sales were worth £93,000.

2013-14 saw the most income, with 261 numbers sold for a total of £133,450.

The figures were revealed in response to a Freedom of Information request, but the Department warns to data may not be complete as the Isle of Man Post Office's Licensing Services also sell cherished numbers.

A cherished number costs between £100 and £15,000.

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