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Press release

£1 MILLION PREMIUM BONDS JACKPOT GOES TO LANCASHIRE WINNER

01 June 2005

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

Winning Bond number          77XL294640
Date Bond number bought   April 1999
Winner’s location                   Lancashire

The winner of June’s £1 million tax-free Premium Bond jackpot prize is a male pensioner from Lancashire and he becomes ERNIE’s 135th millionaire.  The winning number is 77XL294640 and was bought in April 1999.  The winner holds £20,000 in Premium Bonds.

The winner – whose identity is kept a closely-guarded secret – said: “This is such a great surprise. I haven’t had much luck recently and was even thinking of cashing some Bonds in.

“But now I’m going to reinvest some of my win to take me up to the maximum and I’ll probably treat myself to an amazing holiday too.”

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 Lancashire’s ninth £1 million Premium Bond jackpot winner since the top prize was introduced in 1994.  In Lancashire, over 1.1 million people own Premium Bonds worth over £1 billion. There are approximately 19,500 unclaimed prizes in the county, worth over £1 million. June’s draw is the biggest ever, with ERNIE giving away over one million prizes worth over £70 million.

Number and value of prizes awarded in June 2005

£1million                      1
£100,000                     5
£50,000                       10
£25,000                       20
£10,000                       51
£5,000                         101
£1,000                         1,406
£500                            4,218
£100                            172, 837
£50                              920,010

Prize value                  Number of prizes
£70,314,200                1,098,659

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 almost 123 million prizes worth over £7.8 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.

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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