British billionaire splashes N$250k on Henties number plate

N 1 HB, the first Henties Bay number plate issued in December 2020 - which became the official vehicle registration of the office of the mayor at the town, was recently bought by British billionaire Harvey Boulter for a whopping N$250 000.Some believe it has become a &#039;vanity&#039; number plate for Boulter, considering that his initials are HB."It happens to be my initials as well, but the purpose of me probably overspending - because this is a lot to spend on a number plate - was for a good cause," Boulter told Namibian Sun’s sister publication Erongo 24/7, indicating that he also bought N 2 HB and N 3 HB from private owners. He did not divulge how much he spent on the other number plates, although it seemed it was not nearly as much.The money he paid for N 1 HB will go towards the construction of an informal market in the Omdel informal settlement at the town. This offer and transaction formed part of a council resolution reached earlier this year, during which five of seven council members gave their nod. "There was this plan to build the informal market for the underprivileged community, and that it would cost N$250 000; money which the council did not have. I offered to fund the whole project if they sold me the number plate," the billionaire said.Good for the communityHenties Bay mayor Lewies Vermaak said the sale of the number plate was good for the community and that an informal market was much-needed. "There are a lot of informal vendors here who depend on selling their products, but there is no space in the cold and wet weather, and they can also be a nuisance to businesses. “This will now give them a place where people can go to support them," he explained, adding that Boulter had already paid the N$250 000 and it was ready to be used for the project.According to Boulter, the number plate has been legally transferred by NaTis, and is already mounted on his car. The same plates are also still on Vermaak&#039;s car. This will be the case until the new number plate - HB Mayor - is issued, which is expected to be soon.‘Handful of millions’Boulter said he hopes the transaction will inspire other towns to do the same - to keep special number plates and sell them for a good price, then funnel the money toward community projects, and not for private consumption or salaries. "Something like this should benefit the community."Besides N 1 HB, Boulter also bought a 5 000 m² seaside erf from the former deputy minister of information and communication technology, Engel Nawatiseb, for a "handful of millions". He intends to build a 50-room five-star hotel there, adding that building a private holiday house for himself would be “selfish”.He is also funding the construction of an ablution facility at the town&#039;s football stadium. According to councillor Sifried //Garoeb, Boulter offered to assist the council with projects in future. "He is a serious investor who is willing to take council&#039;s hand when it comes to the development of the community. It is a worthy partnership, and we want to retain our relationship with our investors; not take advantage of them,” he said, adding that plans are already in motion to build the informal market "because the funds are now available”.

British billionaire splashes N$250k on Henties number plate

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-01

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British billionaire splashes N$250k on Henties number plate

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-01

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