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Tuesday 01 November 2016 10:24 am

This “simple man” just spent £7m on a car number plate

By: Emma Haslett

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What do you buy the man who has everything? One Dubai zillionaire just solved that problem, by spending a cool £7.3m on a number plate.

Property developer Balwinder Sahni bid 33 million dirhams at a government auction for a number plate bearing the number five, according to CNN Money.

It's not the first time Sahni has splashed out on a single-digit number plate – he is also the pound owner of the number nine, on which he spent 24.5 million dirhams (£5.4m). 

Read more: Now anyone can drive a supercar around Silverstone

But Sahni, who told CNN he is "a simple man", said it was his way of giving to charity. 

"I believe in giving back," he said. "This city has given me a lot."

The number five plate will adorn Sahni's white Rolls-Royce – the number nine plate is already afixed to his black Roller. 

In the UK, number plates are rather cheaper. The most ever spent on a UK-registered licence plate was £518,000 spent by Ferrari dealer John Collins on "25 O". 

That's followed by £440,000 spent by Bradford businessman Afzal Khan on "F 1" in 2008, and the £404,000 spent by an anonymous bidder on "S 1", thought to be Scotland's first ever number plate.

Meanwhile, Roman Abramovich spent £285,000 on "VIP 1" in 2006. 

Now read: McLaren 570GT review – McLaren's most practical supercar yet

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