By Maesam Khan
Only recently it was reported a UK number plate bought for a few hundred pounds sold for a whopping £125,000 at a private auction, the plate was AB11 DHB, well the UK number plates are at it again!!!! A business man with window blinds factories in Al Marwa (Jeddah) – UK and Denmark may well have struck Oil of a different kind! His UK number plate AB11 DUB has brought in a high 5 figure bid. However the plate which is attracting the most attention is a 2004 UK plate ‘AL54AUD’ which spells out ‘Al Saaud’ and this has brought in a 6 figure bid already. Two number plate specialist agents both based in UAE advised Mr Butt that the plate ‘Al Saaud’ should have a reserve of $1,000,000 – hence both offers have been rejected. It isnt surprising that a number plate which has a prestigious name in it such as ‘Al Saud’ would demand such a high revenue. “At first the plate was set to go to auction but after a large offer came in our plans changed. After some consultation, we decided that the plate AL54 AUD should be offered on a private sale basis, I have authorised negotiations to begin for the plate. We may well auction it within the UK, I purchased the plates here so I think that is only right”, stated the owner, Mr Muhammad Butt – Mirage Group Chairman. In 1993 the UK plate K1 NGS sold for around £230,000 inc tax’s and was said to have been purchased by the Sultan of Brunei. The UAE based agents have advised Mr Butt that one of his other number plates may well bring in a high six digit bid, the UK plate RU11ERS will be going under the hammer soon. “I think the UAE number plate agents feel this plate is ‘fit for a king’ – In Europe terms such as king or queen is used for royalty but in the middle east and elsewhere they use the term Ruler or Rulers, this is well known and understood.” When asked that it is rumored that the Plate was going to be offered to HH the King of Saudi Arabia he replied, “maybe the Al Saud plate and the Rulers plate will end up with the king, I’m sure some potential purchasers may have that in mind.” Over 37 of the world’s 50 most expensive number plates are believed to have had buyers from the UAE alone; UK plates are sought after by wealthy Middle East business man with interests in the UK. They either ship their super cars over or already have them stored here ready for their ‘unique’ UK number plates to be put on their rolls royce or bentleys and the likes. It was the plate with the single digit – 1 – that sold for a world record £7.1 million which was purchased by the top Emirati business man ‘Saeed Abdul Ghaffar Khouri’. Afzal Khan, a Bradford business man snapped up the plate F1 for a cool £440,000 and that plate is now rumoured to be worth double if not treble that amount due to its F1 racing connection. Then we have the owner of Chelsea FC, Roman Abramovich, he spent £285,000 on the plate VIP 1 and lets not forget the plate MR51 NGH (Mr Singh) that sold for just over £100,000 a decade ago. That brings us to Mr Butt’s other two very interesting plates that are being offered as a set and its understandable why, plates MR54AUD and MR55AUD (MR and MRS Saud). “These two plates are already being sought as a pair, I have to say, getting them was a real catch, it broke the net!” Mr Butt said. Running two window blinds plants in the UK and one in Kastrup, Denmark have kept the British born business man busy. The recent opening of Mirage Blinds UKSA in Marwa, Jeddah is to be followed up with a step towards Abu Dhabi, the company expect to create around 150 new jobs in the manufacturing sector. Mr G Hasan – Managing Director and Mr Mohammed Sharaz – CEO of the Jeddah based company agreed, “the plates are worth a fortune but we all agree, they will increase in value due to the type of customers these plates are attracting”. Mr Mohammed Latif – Managing Director of Mirage Blinds EU (Denmark) and Mr H Malik – CEO said “these are exclusive UK registered number plates that are valuable assets to the right person.” The real humbling part came when Mr Muhammad Butt was asked the one question left to ask, what will he do with the windfall? ” I will say this, there are business people out there who are billionaires never mind millionaires, money is strange, it can easily be a trial for the best of people. I have learnt that in business and life generally. Its important to remember that many wealthy people donate large amounts to charity all the time, you just don’t hear about it too often. YES, these plates may well bring in 7 figure sums but I won’t be taking it with me in my grave. I will spend part of it on good causes, charity for the poor and needy, that is what I pray will benefit me and others”.
