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Press release

SCOTLAND DOMINATES THE PREMIUM BOND PRIZE LEAGUE GLASGOW NAMED LUCKIEST

17 April 2007


  • Extra chances to be lucky in the biggest Premium bond prize draw to date in June 2007
  • Buy by 30 April to be in the June draw
  • Regional breakdown available

LUCKIEST TOWNS 2006/07

Lady Luck favours the Scots according to the latest Premium Bond Prize League, with Glasgow emerging as the UK’s luckiest postcode for winning top Premium Bond prizes in 2006/07 – and Kirkcaldy a close second (See Notes to Editors). Edinburgh has also entered the top 10 in ninth place, making it a hat trick for the Scots. Last year, the City of London topped the league of Premium Bond luckiest places. This is the fifth year NS&I, who runs Premium Bonds, conducted the study based on the top 120 postcodes in the UK.

This shift of luck northwards is continued through the top five luckiest spots, with Warrington and Hull shooting up the league to take third and fourth place respectively. Belfast completes the top five and is the only place to maintain its top 10 slot.

UK’s 10 luckiest places (last year’s positions in brackets)

Ranking

Luckiest Places
2006/07

1 (72)

Glasgow

2 (65)

Kirkcaldy

3 (94)

Warrington

4 (63)

Hull

5 (7)

Belfast

6 (71)

Shrewsbury

7 (90)

Ilford

8 (118)

Lancaster

9 (30)

Edinburgh

10 (53)

Milton Keynes


Based on the total prize value per million bonds held in each town, calculated only on prizes £1,000 and over

The league table (above) shows the top 10 areas across the UK for winning top Premium Bond prizes between March 2006 and February 2007 as a proportion of the number of Premium Bonds held in their area.

This is the second time a Scottish town has topped the list: Dumfries receiving the highest proportion of top prizes in 2002/03. A list of the towns which have topped the luckiest league over the last five years are shown below.

Ranking

2006/07

2005/06

2004/05

2003/04

2002/03

1

Glasgow

City of London

Oldham

Sunderland

Dumfries

 

Across the UK, 23 million people own Premium Bonds worth over £35 billion. Eligible Bonds are entered into each monthly draw which pays out 1.4 million prizes worth £103 million from £50 to the two £1 million jackpots.

Luck changed noticeably for many of the top 10 areas in 2006/07 with most entries previously adrift in mid-table positions. Lancaster has seen the biggest reversal of fortunes rising 110 places from 118th to eighth in just 12 months. Last year’s luckiest postcode, the City of London, has dropped out of the top 120 postcodes league as holdings have increased in other areas at a faster pace.

UNLUCKIEST TOWNS 2006/07

Despite being known for its prosperous residents, the last year has been a lean one for the Isle of Man. It has become the unluckiest town, taking the title from Leicester (now at 17th place) the previous year.  However, Guernsey has fallen the most slipping from second place last year to 111th in 2006/07. Although Lincoln remains in the bottom four, sinking to 119 this year, its residents should take comfort in the huge rises seen by Lancaster and Ilford which shows luck does change.

UK’s 10 unluckiest places (last year’s positions in brackets)

Ranking

Unluckiest Places
2005/06

111 (2)

Guernsey

112 (19)

Galashiels

113 (41)

Enfield

114 (36)

Leeds

115 (23)

Sutton

116 (24)

Falkirk

117 (78)

Taunton

118 (18)

Jersey

119 (117)

Lincoln

120 (66)

Isle of Man


Based on the total prize value per million bonds held in each town, calculated only on prizes £1,000 and over

Sally Swait, Premium Bonds manager at NS&I commented: “Every Premium Bond has an equal chance of winning a prize, however Scottish postcodes have been particularly successful this year. Both Glasgow and Kirkcaldy were languishing in the bottom end of the league in 2005/06 but have seen their fortunes rise to the very top of the table, winning the highest proportion of top prizes this year.

“This along with the fact that only Belfast maintained a top 10 position over the last two years goes to show that even though you might not have been lucky in the past year, the jackpot could still be yours in the months to come! Also with more prizes to be won in June’s bumper draw, places like the Isle of Man may see a reversal of fortune. June could be their lucky month!” 

Extra chances to win

June’s Premium Bond draw is predicted to be the biggest yet with a prize fund worth £110 million, including five £1 million jackpots rather than the usual two. With a total of 1.4 million prizes there is even more chance for Premium Bond customers to get lucky.

This draw is the last of two anniversary draws which celebrate 50 years of Premium Bonds. NS&I also paid out five £1 million jackpots in December 2006 to mark 50 years since the introduction of Premium Bonds. June 2007 marks 50 years since the first draw.

For customers to have the chance of taking part in this exciting draws, they must have bought their Premium Bonds before 30 April 2007.

Ends 

Notes to Editors

Calculations were based on the total value of large prizes (£1,000 and over) won per million Bonds held in the top 120 Bond-owning postal areas over a one year period between March 2006 and February 2007. A full table or results of a specific postcode are available on request.

The luckiest places in the previous four years were :-

Ranking

2005/06

2004/05

2003/04

2002/03

1

City of London

Oldham

Sunderland

Dumfries

2

Guernsey

Salisbury

Aberdeen

Harrogate

3

Slough

Lancaster

Bolton

Ilford

4

Blackburn

East London

Hull

Blackburn

5

Wolverhampton

Doncaster

Central London

Twickenham

6

Derby

Twickenham

Worcester

Stevenage

7

Belfast

Oxford 

City of London 

Taunton

8

St Albans

Exeter

Kingston upon Thames

North West London

9

North West London

Redhill

Slough

Stockport

10

Bath

North London

Gloucester

Crewe

Based on the total prize value per million bonds held in each town, calculated only on prizes £1,000 and over

The unluckiest places in the previous four years were :-

Ranking

2005/06

2004/05

2003/04

2002/03

111

Northampton

Romford

Fylde

Cleveland

112

Birmingham

Wigan

Perth

Northampton

113

Guildford

Dudley

Darlington

Paisley

114

Newcastle upon Tyne

Cambridge

Kilmarnock

Falkirk

115

Nottingham

Taunton

Falkirk

Slough

116

Llandrindod Wells

Wolverhampton

York

Dundee

117

Lincoln

Guernsey

Watford

Motherwell

118

Lancaster

City of London

Llandrindod Wells

Central London

119

Llandudno

Galashiels

Western Isles

Kirkwall

120

Leicester

Halifax

Motherwell

Western Isles

Based on the total prize value per million bonds held in each town, calculated only on prizes £1,000 and over

  • * All Premium Bonds prizes are free of UK income Tax and Capital Gains tax.
  • Premium Bonds are available over the telephone, online, by post and standing order as well as through a network of 14,600 Post OfficeTM branches. 
  • Premium Bonds were launched in November 1956, the first draw was held in June 1957.
  • Premium Bonds have to be held for one calendar month before they are eligible for the prize draws.
  • ERNIE (Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment) is the Premium Bond number cruncher which generates the winning Premium Bond numbers each month.
  • Subscribe to the NS&I RSS newsfeed.  Simply copy and paste this link www.nsandi.com/mediacentre.xml into your RSS reader to receive regular news alerts from NS&I.

Further information on 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.

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.

Gareth Headon 020 7348 9494
gareth.headon@nsandi.com
Gill Stephens 020 7348 9449
gill.stephens@nsandi.com
Iman Asante 020 7348 9301
iman.asante@nsandi.com
Monica Del-Villar 020 7348 9654
monica.del-villar@nsandi.com

ISDN for interviews

020 7602 4522

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