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Press release

£1 MILLION PREMIUM BONDS JACKPOT GOES TO BERKSHIRE WINNER

05 May 2005

1 million other tax-free prizes worth almost £70m also awarded

Winning Bond number          6TY523006
Date Bond number bought   April 2004
Winner’s location                   Berkshire

The winner of May’s £1 million tax-free Premium Bond jackpot prize is a male pensioner from Berkshire and they become ERNIE’s 134th millionaire.  The winning number is 6TY523006 and was bought in April 2004.  The winner holds £30,000 in Premium Bonds.

The winner – whose identity is kept a closely-guarded secret – said: “This is such a great surprise. I put some money into ERNIE when I retired hoping Premium Bonds would boost my monthly income but I never expected to win big!

“I will definitely treat myself with some of the winnings, maybe a holiday.”

The winner was told last night in person by Agent Million, the mystery person who pays a personal visit to the winner to give them the good news.

Regional facts

This is Berkshire’s second £1 million Premium Bond jackpot winner since the top prize was introduced in 1994.  In Berkshire, over 230,000 people own Premium Bonds worth over £325 million. There are approximately 5,000 unclaimed prizes in the area, worth over £300,000.  May’s draw is the biggest ever, with ERNIE giving away over one million prizes worth almost £70 million.

Number and value of prizes awarded in May 2005

£1million                       1
£100,000                     5
£50,000                       10
£25,000                       20
£10,000                       49
£5,000                         100
£1,000                         1,397
£500                            4,191
£100                            171, 715
£50                              913,908

Prize value                  Number of prizes
£69,849,400                1,091,396

Premium Bonds facts

The current prize fund rate is 3.20%, equivalent to 4.00% p.a. gross for a basic rate tax payer and 5.33% p.a. gross for a higher rate tax payer, while the odds of winning are 24,000 to 1 and, with average luck, an investor with £30,000 in Premium Bonds can expect to win 15 tax-free prizes a year – more than one a month.

The popularity of Premium Bonds has grown dramatically over the past five years as the amount invested has doubled to over £26 billion.  Premium Bonds can be bought online at www.nsandi.com, by telephone on 0500 007 007, by post and over the counter at Post Office branches.

Like all NS&I products, Premium Bonds offer investors 100% security, backed by HM Treasury, as well as the sense of fun that comes from winning tax free prizes.

Since the first draw in 1957, ERNIE – Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment – has given away over 121 million prizes worth over £7.75 billion.  Prizes range from £50 to £1 million.

There is currently over £21 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 www.nsandi.com and using the Premium Bond prize checker.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

1. Pictures of ERNIE (including the new ERNIE 4 machine), Agent Million and buying Premium Bonds online are available in high-resolution jpeg format from the NS&I media team.

2. Further information on National Savings and Investments (NS&I), including press releases and product information, is available on the website at www.nsandi.com. You can also contact the NS&I media team.

3. NS&I has a number of spokespeople available for interviews and our experienced radio team is available via our ISDN line: 020 7602 4522.

Elen Thomas                
020 7348 9654   07884 118686    elen.thomas@nsandi.com
Jonathan Akerman        
020 7348 9433   07879 667216    jonathan.akerman@nsandi.com
Rabia Bapu-Jones         
020 7348 9449   07778 966387    rabia.bapu-jones@nsandi.com
Out of hours: all numbers above diverted to mobile phones.

Media team
NS&I has a number of spokespeople available for interviews and our experienced radio team is available via our ISDN line: 020 7602 4522.

The numbers below are for media use only. Customers wishing to contact NS&I can find details here.

Gill Stephens 020 7348 9449
gill.stephens@nsandi.com
Iman Asante 020 7348 9301
iman.asante@nsandi.com
Angela Mason 020 7348 9433
angela.mason@nsandi.com

ISDN for interviews

020 7602 4522

Out of hours

All numbers above diverted to staffed mobile phones
 

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