Mystery businessman pays £80k for personalised reg DH11 LON

A mystery businessman swooped on DVLA Personalised Registrations’ first auction of 2012 and stunned all by buying DH11 LON for nearly £80,000.
 
Expectations surrounding the personalised registration were high, especially as Dhillon is a popular Asian surname, but no one predicted the hammer would come down on such a huge sum during the first day of the Agency’s three-day sale staged at the Stratford Manor Hotel near Stratford-upon-Avon.
 
Tagged with a reserve of £2,000, this was immediately cast aside as the bidding war started at £12,600. A fierce battle between four rival bidders, all in the auction room, ensued and, just as the auctioneers’ gavel was about to fall at £50,000, the mystery man stepped in with, what proved to be, three significant bids.
 
The final winning bid was £61,000. However, the total amount paid was £79,100 because of the VAT on the hammer price, buyer’s premium, VAT on the buyer’s premium and assignment fee.
 
Jody Davies, DVLA Personalised Registrations’ Events Manager, said: “What a way to start our 2012 programme? We were hopeful DH11 LON would create some interest, but no one predicted it would fetch such a high figure. We are delighted, of course, but a little stunned.”