Over half a million pounds has been raised for charity at the Maggie’s Penguin Parade auction.
A packed audience in V&A Dundee gasped in delight as the £539,000 total was announced following frantic bidding for the 82 lots on offer.
A donation of £1000 from the floor rounded the total figure to £540,000.
The top bid of the night was £11,000 for P-Pick Up The Phone Penguin.
After a summer of bringing joy to families across Tayside and Fife, the Maggie’s Penguins went under the hammer at V&A in front of an audience of around 300 people.
A total of 80 full-size penguins were sold tonight, with two extra-special “baby” penguins also up for grabs.
Judy Murray won the bidding war for The Don, a King Group sponsored tribute to her tennis star son Andy, which was designed by illustrator Angela Nisbet.
Ms Murray, who bought the statue for £10,000, the joint second-highest bid of the night, said it will take pride of place at one of her new tennis centres.
She said: “We thought it would look nice at the tennis centre we’re developing at Park of Keir in Dunblane.
“It will go in the reception area. We’re really pleased we got it.
“All of the penguins though are so much more impressive up close.
“How they came up with so many different outstanding designs I thought it was phenomenal.
“It’s an exceptional amount of money that was raised and it’s almost exactly what Maggie’s Dundee were aiming for. It’s a bit freaky!”
