Premium Bond anniversary attracts record number of customers

The 50th anniversary of Premium Bonds has caused a stir amongst savers, leading to record levels of investment. Since NS& I, which runs Premium Bonds, kicked off celebrations £6.6 billion has been invested, with £2.2 billion worth of Bonds sold in October 2006 alone - the highest monthly total to date.

Over half a million (525,000) people have bought their first Premium Bond during this period, taking the total number of customers to 23.7 million. With £36 billion now invested in Premium Bonds, a record number of Bonds will be in next week's draw, which will pay out five £1 million jackpots instead of the usual two.

June's draw is the second of NS& I's two anniversary draws to celebrate 50 years of Premium Bonds and marks 50 years since ERNIE (Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment) first went into action. It has the largest prize fund to date with almost 1.5 million prizes worth over £116 million. In December 2006 five £1 million jackpots were also paid out to mark 50 years since Premium Bonds first went on sale.

John Prout, NS& I's sales director, said: "The last eight months have seen a huge surge of interest in Premium Bonds. Despite being launched 50 years ago, they continue to attract new customers: in just the last eight months, over half a million people have begun saving in Premium Bonds for the first time. The anniversary draws, combined with the ease of investing online have appealed to old and new customers alike."

Are Premium Bonds still a good bet?

While prizes and odds have changed over the last 50 years, the concept behind Premium Bonds has remained the same: Premium Bonds offer investors 100% security, backed by HM Treasury, as well as the sense of fun that comes from winning tax-free* prizes.

50 years of prizes

The first Premium Bonds draw was held in June 1957. It took ERNIE 54 hours to complete the draw which paid out 23,142 prizes worth £969,750. The top prize was £1,000 and smallest £25. There were 49 million Bonds eligible for the first draw.

Since then, 154 million tax-free* prizes worth almost £9.8 billion have been paid out. Prizes now range from £50 to £1 million and it takes ERNIE only a few hours to generate the winning numbers. ERNIE has created 183 millionaires since the £1 million jackpot was introduced in 1994.

Premium Bonds Facts

The previous record for Premium Bond sales was £1.1 billion sold in May 2003 when NS& I increased the maximum investment limit from £20,000 to £30,000.
NS&I sold £8.2 billion worth of Premium Bonds in 2006/07, up from £7.8 billion in 2005/06.

On 30th October 2006 a massive £244 million were sold - average daily sales in the last year were £25 million (May 2006 to April 2007)

Premium Bonds can be bought online at nsandi.com, by telephone, by post and over the counter at Post Office branches.

There is currently £28 million in unclaimed prizes. There is no time limit on claiming prizes. Premium Bond investors can check to see if they have won by logging on to nsandi.com and using the Premium Bond prize checker.

* All Premium Bond prizes are free of UK Income Tax and Capital Gains tax.