[db-wg] status: LEGACY -- Stranger and stranger

Regarding one of the "LEGACY" blocks mentioned in my prior email, on a
whim I decided to take a look at the full history of the block.  That
full history is reproduced below.  This history causes me to have even
more questions than I have already asked.

I'm still totally befuddled by the fact that this block apparently is
and always was marked as "status: LEGACY", even though it's original
allocation date still seems to be 2015-09-23, which seems relatively
recent to me.

Just as perplexing is the apparent direct transfer of the block from
a department of the UK government to a private for-profit Internet
company.

Has the UK government been so hard up for cash in recent years that it
has taken to selling off any spare /16 blocks that it happens to have
lying around?  If so, who should I talk to about placing a bid for the
next one they decide to unload?


========================================================================
% Version 1 of object "51.155.0.0 - 51.155.255.255"
% This version was a UPDATE operation on 2015-09-23 15:10

inetnum:        51.155.0.0 - 51.155.255.255
netname:        UK-DWP
descr:          UK Government Department for Work and Pensions
country:        GB
status:         LEGACY
mnt-by:         DWP-MNT
created:        2015-09-23T13:10:05Z
last-modified:  2015-09-23T13:10:05Z
source:         RIPE

========================================================================
% Version 2 of object "51.155.0.0 - 51.155.255.255"
% This version was a UPDATE operation on 2015-09-23 15:15

inetnum:        51.155.0.0 - 51.155.255.255
netname:        UK-DWP
descr:          UK Government Department for Work and Pensions
country:        GB
org:            ORG-DWP1-RIPE
status:         LEGACY
mnt-by:         DWP-MNT
created:        2015-09-23T13:10:05Z
last-modified:  2015-09-23T13:15:16Z
source:         RIPE

========================================================================
% Version 3 of object "51.155.0.0 - 51.155.255.255"
% This version was a UPDATE operation on 2015-11-05 17:51

inetnum:        51.155.0.0 - 51.155.255.255
netname:        UK-ZEN
descr:          Zen Internet Limited
country:        GB
org:            ORG-DWP1-RIPE
status:         LEGACY
mnt-by:         ZEN-MNT
created:        2015-09-23T13:10:05Z
last-modified:  2015-11-05T16:51:50Z
source:         RIPE

========================================================================
% Version 4 of object "51.155.0.0 - 51.155.255.255"
% This version was a UPDATE operation on 2015-11-05 18:43

inetnum:        51.155.0.0 - 51.155.255.255
netname:        UK-ZEN
descr:          Zen Internet Limited
country:        GB
org:            ORG-ZIL1-RIPE
status:         LEGACY
mnt-by:         ZEN-MNT
created:        2015-09-23T13:10:05Z
last-modified:  2015-11-05T17:43:45Z
source:         RIPE

========================================================================
% Version 5 of object "51.155.0.0 - 51.155.255.255"
% This version was a UPDATE operation on 2019-07-04 12:43

inetnum:        51.155.0.0 - 51.155.255.255
netname:        UK-ZEN
descr:          Zen Internet Limited
country:        GB
org:            ORG-ZIL1-RIPE
status:         LEGACY
mnt-by:         ZEN-MNT
mnt-by:         ZEN-NOC-MNT
created:        2015-09-23T13:10:05Z
last-modified:  2019-07-04T10:43:36Z
source:         RIPE

========================================================================
% Version 6 (current version) of object "51.155.0.0 - 51.155.255.255"
% This version was a UPDATE operation on 2020-02-03 12:55

inetnum:        51.155.0.0 - 51.155.255.255
netname:        UK-ZEN
descr:          Zen Internet Limited
country:        GB
org:            ORG-ZIL1-RIPE
status:         LEGACY
mnt-by:         RIPE-NCC-LEGACY-MNT
mnt-by:         ZEN-MNT
mnt-by:         ZEN-NOC-MNT
created:        2015-09-23T13:10:05Z
last-modified:  2020-02-03T11:55:22Z
source:         RIPE