Borrowers Boost Pawnbroker's Loan Business

Wed, 13 Feb 2008

Britain’s largest pawnbroker has reported an increase in its core business as customers continue to struggle with borrowing from other sources amid the credit crunch.

Albemarle and Bond said a tightening in lending criteria from banks and credit cards had led to its pawn loan book growing by 24 per cent over the past year.

The Bristol-based firm, which lends money in exchange for gold jewellery and diamonds, said group pre-tax profits rose by around 33 per cent to £5.2 million from £3.9 million for the half year to December 31.

The firm’s loan book increased to £17.3 million with 146,000 customers at the end of the period - equivalent to an average loan of £118.

A&B’s chairman Charles Nicolson said: "It's been an excellent six months. In the current climate, many people are having their credit cards withdrawn, and find banks impossible to work with. We are people who will welcome them and want to do business with them."

"The current climate has made it our sort of year so far and we are hopeful that will continue," he added.

A&B said sales of second-hand jewellery are flat compared with a year ago due to what they described as a "challenging" retail climate.

They also revealed that income from pay day advances is down by 7 per cent due to more bad debts, although their Speedloan service - which lends borrowers up to £500 repayable by monthly direct debit instalments – recorded a 20 per cent rise in business .
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