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Pawnbroker's trade jumps

GRAEME EVANS
21/ 8/2008

PAWNBROKER H&T reported a 79 per cent jump in half-year profits after opening new stores and benefiting from higher gold prices.

Chief executive John Nichols said it would be wrong to assume the economic downturn was responsible for the profits improvement to £5.5m in the six months to June 30.

He added: "Against wider perception, pawnbroking is not overall a cyclical business, and the weaker economic climate is not necessarily a driver for our business."

H&T, established in 1897, operates from 95 stores after it acquired sites in Darlington and Wallsend and opened four more this year, including outlets in Cosham and Kilmarnock.

However, it warned that acquisitions had become more difficult as the high price of gold resulted in `unrealistic valuations' from potential vendors.

The company's profit from scrap reached £2.4m in the first half, up from £700,000 a year earlier. Retail sales were 14.2 per cent higher on a like-for-like basis.