Pay phone: Would you spend £1m on a mobile number?
You may be willing to splash out £1,500 on a new iPhone, but would you add another seven figures to that to secure the ‘phone number of your dreams’?
London-based entrepreneur Usain Kubah has just released what he says is the world’s most expensive phone number, which will set you back a million pounds.
The landline number – 0333 333 3333 – is the most coveted string of digits in Kubah’s 800-strong portfolio of highly-desired phone numbers. He is also offering the mobile number 0770 000 0000 for half a million quid.
His biggest sale to date is for a mobile number sold to the crown prince of Qatar, which went for £250,000.
Kubah, who has a degree in pure mathematics, started trading in phone numbers when he was a teenager 16 years ago.
He told City PM his clients include people buying rare numbers as presents for their partners, as well as memorable digits for business use. “We’ve even sold to families whereby they would buy five matching numbers for the whole household. We then have special VIP clients who range from Russian Oligarchs to Arab Sheikhs purchasing the more exclusive numbers.”
He says when he started the business people would buy numbers that spelled out words on an alpha-numeric keypad but that the practice has all but died in the modern age.
Kubah likens Exclusive Numbers to the personalised car registration plate business, where one-off plates can change hands for millions. He says demand remains strong but that the industry was at its peak around 2010. “Back then there was only texting and calling so it was a lot busier, whereas now we are in the age of the social media giants such as Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, which have usernames.”
Kubah says he started the business as an entrepreneurial 13-year-old. “When I got my first mobile phone at the age of 13, I decided I wanted to be cool with an exclusive number. There were two phone numbers that I liked and I decided to buy both, but when my dad found out, he told me to get rid of one of them. I sold one for a small profit and the other I kept and use to this day. After that small profit, I decided to buy another exclusive number to see if I could sell it and make money – and I did.”
Exclusive Numbers cost from £150 and are compatible with all UK networks. To find out more go to exclusive-numbers.com