 |
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
Media centre /
Press release£1,000 PREMIUM BOND FROM LANCASHIRE WINS £1 MILLION01 February 2005
One lucky resident from Lancashire is £1 million richer today after ERNIE, the Premium Bond number generator, picked the winning combination 63EP508352 from some 25 billion Premium Bond numbers in the February draw. The winner, whose identity is being kept a secret, 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. The winner – a female pensioner – last night told Agent Million: "This is incredible news and I’m still trying to take it all in. It’s the best thing I could have hoped for this year. “It’s strange in a way because, compared to some other people, I don’t actually own that many Premium Bonds and I certainly never expected to win the jackpot, although you always live in hope. But I suppose my win does prove that it’s not always those people who have thousands and thousands of pounds invested who win a big prize.” This is Lancashire’s eighth £1 million Premium Bond jackpot winner since the top prize was introduced in 1994, and February’s winner becomes the 131st Premium Bond millionaire overall. This month’s winning jackpot number was purchased in April 1997 and the winner holds £3,450 in Premium Bonds. 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 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 £25 billion. February’s draw is the biggest ever, with ERNIE awarding over one million prizes worth £68 million. 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. The number and value of prizes awarded in February 2005 are: £1million 1 Prize value Number of Prizes Since the first draw in 1957, ERNIE has given away over 118.6 million prizes worth over £7.55 billion. Prizes range from £50 to £1million. There is currently £23.6 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. The lucky jackpot winner becomes ERNIE’s 131st Premium Bond millionaire.2. February’s jackpot winner holds a total of £3,450 Premium Bonds.3. 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.4. NS&I has a number of spokespeople available for interviews and our experienced radio team is available via our ISDN line: 020 7602 4522.Mark Brooks 020 7348 9301 07771 660409 mark.brooks@nsandi.com
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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 |
|
Search
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
