Photo: Stan Thompson LD 1 is available exclusively through <strong>Regtransfers</strong>.<strong>co</strong>.<strong>uk</strong> @ £275,000
Happy birthday to… me! 30 years <strong>of</strong> <strong>Regtransfers</strong> - a <strong>co</strong>nversation with MD Tony Brown In 1982 a Vauxhall Motors engineering apprentice named Tony Brown decided that employment prospects at the end <strong>of</strong> his apprenticeship were not looking too good, so he began to explore the possibility <strong>of</strong> starting a business <strong>of</strong> his own. <strong>The</strong> first few efforts proved less than successful, but Tony <strong>co</strong>ntinued to look for inspiration - which he found among the pages <strong>of</strong> Exchange & Mart. “I came across people advertising cherished number plates for sale. At the time I had no idea this <strong>co</strong>uld be a viable business, but the more I looked into it the more I became interested and fascinated by the whole subject. “<strong>The</strong> early days <strong>of</strong> the business were a strange mixture: very interesting, but also worrying, lonely and hard work. I had no idea what was involved in running a business and had no mentor or person I <strong>co</strong>uld really speak to about it.” <strong>The</strong> business grew slowly initially as Tony had very little money to spend on marketing. “I had to resort to literally running around wealthy places like St John’s Wood in London, placing cards on old vehicles such as Morris Minors asking whether the owners wanted to sell their number plates. <strong>The</strong>n I would place other cards on the higher-end cars like Rolls-Royces and Bentleys asking whether those owners wanted to buy a personal number. When I was finished I would drive back to my flat in Luton, hopefully to take phone calls generated by my day’s legwork. As it turned out, this process was quite a good way <strong>of</strong> getting numbers to sell. On the other hand, I found that I needed to reach a bigger audience in order to find buyers, so I started to put small adverts in Exchange and Mart and the local press. “When I first started I was very inexperienced and naive. I never actually received payment for the first few numbers numbers I thought I had sold. <strong>The</strong> customers just never sent me the money. Looking back I realise that the documentation I sent them was very unpr<strong>of</strong>essional and certainly not good enough to give people <strong>co</strong>nfidence to send me the necessary documents and a large amount <strong>of</strong> money. I soon learned that everything had to be done properly and pr<strong>of</strong>essionally. “Another lesson I learned at that time was not to rush into things. When I thought I had sold those first few numbers I handed in my notice at Vauxhall. When the sales never <strong>co</strong>mpleted, things were a little un<strong>co</strong>mfortable for a while. “I remember the very first number that I successfully sold and transferred - and got paid for! <strong>The</strong> registration included the numbers 365, and the customer bought it for an old Porsche 365 Speedster that he was restoring. Win a <strong>Personal</strong> <strong>Number</strong> Plate! Enter our online 30th Anniversary Competition to win a personalised number plate worth £350* Simply answer this question: What was the make <strong>of</strong> <strong>Regtransfers</strong>’ first <strong>co</strong>mputer? A: Apple B: Apri<strong>co</strong>t C: Aubergine <strong>The</strong>n, enter your answer online at: www.regtransfers.<strong>co</strong>.<strong>uk</strong>/<strong>co</strong>mpetition *Registration <strong>of</strong> the winner’s choice (subject to availability) to the value <strong>of</strong> £189, plus VAT, £80 DOT fee and a set <strong>of</strong> acrylic plates. Online entries only. One entry per email address. <strong>The</strong> winner will be selected at random from the <strong>co</strong>rrect entries received by 31st July 2012 and will be notified by email. <strong>The</strong> result will be published at the website address above. Total value approximately £350. Full Terms and Conditions are available online. <strong>The</strong> judges decision is final and no <strong>co</strong>rrespondence can be entered into <strong>co</strong>ncerning the result. 1982 Diary Events • Ozzy Osbourne bites the head <strong>of</strong>f a live bat thrown at him during a performance. • Commodore 64 home <strong>co</strong>mputer released. • Mark Thatcher is found safe and well in the Sahara Desert, six days after going missing on the Paris-Dakar car rally. • UK unemployment reaches 3 million for the first time since the 1930s. • Laker Airways <strong>co</strong>llapses, leaving 6,000 passengers stranded, with debts <strong>of</strong> £270m. • <strong>The</strong> Falkands <strong>co</strong>nflict claims 907 lives. • <strong>The</strong> German entrant, Ni<strong>co</strong>le, wins <strong>The</strong> Eurovision Song Contest in Harrogate with ‘Ein bißchen Frieden’ (‘A Little Peace’). <strong>The</strong> UK entry, ‘One Step Further’ by Bardo, <strong>co</strong>mes seventh. • <strong>The</strong> Haçienda nightclub opens in Manchester. • Tottenham Hotspur win the FA Cup beating QPR 1-0 in a replay after a 6th minute penalty from Glenn Hoddle. • Pope John Paul II visits Canterbury, the first time a pontiff has set foot on British soil. • Michael Fagan breaks into Buckingham Palace and spends 10 minutes talking to the Queen until he is apprehended. • <strong>The</strong> Ford Sierra is launched as replacement for the long-running Cortina. • Channel 4 TV starts transmissions. Music • ‘Come On Eileen’ Dexys Midnight Runners • ‘Fame’ Irene Cara • ‘Eye <strong>of</strong> the Tiger’ Survivor Books • <strong>The</strong> Secret Diary <strong>of</strong> Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ Sue Townsend • Life, the Universe and Everything Douglas Adams • An Ice-Cream War William Boyd Films • E.T (<strong>The</strong> Extra-Terrestrial) • Gandhi • An Officer and a Gentleman TV • <strong>The</strong> Young Ones • Countdown • Saturday Superstore Births • Prince William and Kate Middleton • Andy Roddick [Tennis player] • Kelly Clarkson [First winner <strong>of</strong> ‘American Idol’] Deaths • Harry H. Corbett [TV’s ‘Harold Steptoe’] • Kenneth More [Actor] • Leonid Brezhnev [Soviet leader] 14 <strong>The</strong> <strong>World</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Personal</strong> <strong>Number</strong> <strong>Plates</strong> <strong>Issue</strong> <strong>29</strong>
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