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History of Premium Bonds

In his Budget of 17 April 1956, Harold Macmillan announced that Premium Bonds were to be launched to reduce inflation and to encourage thrift among those who were attracted not by earning interest but by winning prizes.

The first was bought on 1 November 1956 by Alderman Sir Cuthbert Ackroyd, who later became Lord Mayor of London.  By the end of the first day, £5 million were sold.

By the time the first draw took place at the Bond headquarters in Lytham St Anne’s, Lancashire, on Saturday 1 June 1957, £82 million had been invested. By the end of August 1957, the amount invested had reached £100 million. There was a total of 23,000 prizes in the first draw and the top prize was £1,000.

In the early years Premium Bonds were the lottery of the day; celebrities including Bruce Forsyth, Bob Hope and Dame Judi Dench announced the top prizes and they were popular as presents, as well as for saving.

However, since the 1990s, Premium Bonds have undergone a substantial renaissance, with the amount invested rising from £4 billion in 1994 to £40 billion in 2008.

Many happy returns!

2007 marked 50 successful years of NS&I Premium Bonds and to celebrate we paid out five £1 million jackpots in each of two special anniversary draws. The first, in December 2006, was to celebrate Premium Bonds first going on sale towards the end of 1956. And the second anniversary draw in June 2007 marked the 50th anniversary of the first ever Premium Bonds prize draw in June 1957.

Giving customers a better chance to win £1 million caused huge interest in the run up to the two anniversary draws, with record levels of Premium Bonds sales. Sally Swait, Premium Bonds manager at NS&I, said: “We wanted to recognise these landmark dates by holding our biggest ever prize draws. It was a thank-you to our customers, offering three extra chances in each anniversary draw to win the big jackpot.”

Although the anniversary celebrations have now passed, we still pay out a £1 million jackpot and hundreds of thousands of other tax-free prizes every month. The more Bonds you have, the better your chances of winning, so if you want to buy more just click “Invest now” below. Or if you want an easy way to invest regularly, you can set up a standing order.

• To find out more about Premium Bonds click here