Half of top Premium Bonds prizes won by those with maximum £50,000 holding

Exactly half of the high value Premium Bonds prizes in the latest draw were won by those with the maximum £50,000 holding, This is Money analysis shows.

There were two £1million prizes and 90 x £100,000 ones in the October prize draw – and 46 of these 92 top prizes were won by customers with £50,000 holdings.

This includes the two £1million prizes. One of the jackpot winners was from Greater Manchester, with the winning bond purchased in October 2016 and the other was from West Scotland, the winning bond bought in September 2009.

Meanwhile, 44 of the 90 £100,000 prizes were win by those with the maximum holding – the £50,000 limit has stood since June 2015, when it was upped from £40,000. 

In addition, 55 of the top 92 prizes were with those holding £40,000 or more – representing 59.8 per cent, or nearly three in five of these prizes.

There were 180 £50,000 prizes in this month’s draw and 82 of these were won by customers holding £50,000, which is 45.6 per cent of all the £50,000 prizes.

Meanwhile, 107 of the £50,000 prizes went to those with holdings of £40,000 – so 59.4 per cent of the £50,000 were won by those with holdings of £40,000 or more, again nearly three in five.

In a sign that good things come to those who wait, a bond purchased in 1957, one year after the Premium Bonds prize was launched, won a £25,000 prize with a £40 holding.

Two winners scooped £100,000 prizes with less than £1,000 holdings, including a bond holder with £200 invested from Devon, with the bond bought in April 2015.

Meanwhile there was one winner of a £50,000 prize with a holding below £1,000 – a £150 holding from Lancashire, purchased in November 1977. 

NS&I says this month, it paid out more than 5million prizes worth more than £470million.

From the September draw, the underlying prize fund is 4.65 per cent – and the odds improved to 21,000 to 1 from 22,000 to 1 – the best level since the April 2008 prize draw.

Find out when your winning number could be drawn in 2023 and 2024.