Pawnbroker H&T enjoying credit crunch
The rise in the gold price has enticed cash-strapped consumers to trade in their bling at H&T Pawnbrokers, sending profits up 40% to £4.6m.
The High Street money-lending chain reported some are even bringing in scraps of gold to be melted down, as customers gather up pieces of broken jewellery to raise a bit of extra cash.
In six-month figures to the end of June, chief executive John Nichols said profits rose 79pc to £5.5m if an exceptional £900,000 item for a failed IT system was disregarded.
Nichols, who chairs the National Pawnbroker Association, said that one of his rivals had accepted a helicopter and a boat as collateral in recent months.
Nichols said the business had grown partly because he has invested in making his outlets more welcoming.
He has also seen a 14% underlying rise in sales of items that can be purchased in his shops.
He said: 'We are cautious about the impact of the current retail climate on our Christmas trading, but are confident about the rest of the year.'
H&T increased the half-year dividend from 1.6p to 2p.
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