Antique Pocket Watches London
sports memorabilia joins watches and jewelry
For years, the business of pawnbroker was a cliché of evil men Cash and women down on their luck walks sadly through the door to borrow money, leaving the gold Rolex watches necklaces and bracelets Diamond behind the counter. This, however, was before the advent of eBay generation.
Yesterday, Pawnbrokers of Great Britain has revealed that the former trade was entered into the 21st century, an era of the Internet with a new take on the value and valuables.
Sutton & Robertson, which lends up to 1 million pounds and is nicknamed the Harrods "pawn", that see a marked increase in the amount of signed sports memorabilia and abstract art to come through the door. Harvey & Thompson (H & T), a lender pawnbroker that traces its history to the 19th century, is considering an unprecedented move that would allow customers to purchase loans against the short-term products such as iPods.
Steve Fenerty, director of H & T business, said: "With the rise of eBay, people are become much more confident in buying and selling a range of different things. Most of our business is still in jewelry, but I can see we will certainly consider expanding in the years to come. Something with a reasonable loan value and strong market opportunity is possible, but iPods are certainly an area that we would take a look. "
Pawnbrokers on both sides of the Atlantic have enjoyed one of their best years since the early 1970s that the credit crunch forces banks to reduce lending to risky customers high. The price of gold has also been a major boost. When rising price of gold, pawnbrokers can lend more money, which generates higher interest costs, as well as practicing a higher sale price when an item of jewelry are not claimed.
Albemarle & Bond A reported 47 percent increase in underlying pretax profit of £ 10.3 million yesterday for the year June 30 The value of its loan portfolio rose 57 percent to £ pawns 24.8 million. Greville Nicholls, its chief executive said: "We have moved from fourth gear to fifth.
Pawnbrokers Americans are known for storing a wide range of products, weapons fire to lawnmowers and wheelchairs. In Britain, where space is limited, H & T and Albemarle & Bond, the two largest players, have specialized in replica watches and jewelry.
However, H & T stores in Scotland have started to open the door a wider range of goods.
In effect, pawnbrokers north of the border have been traditionally used as houses brokerage for a series of strange and wonderful items. Margaret Hughan, the pawnbroker Smellie & Weir of Glasgow, once had a client who tried to pledge their false teeth. His shop was also called to be full frame after season march of the Orange Order. A pawnbroker Aberdeen base once gave £ 50 for a letter written by one of the Kray twins, while another paid £ 5,000 for a minibus that an Indian restaurant used to pick up his staff.
Mr. Fenerty said: "In Scotland, there may be something more simple, as the storage of golf clubs during the winter formal wear range for Burns night. But for now it's just 5 percent our business. "
Sutton & Robertson, whose two pawnbrokers are based in the heart of London, last month backed the launch of borro.com, a pawnbroker Internet that although focusing on jewelry, silver is also suitable cons novels, war medals and antiques. Since its launch, the site has lent £ 120 against a signed first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone nearly half its market value £ 300. He recently gave a customer £ 200 for a jersey of the Great Britain Olympic rowing signed by Sir Steve Redgrave and Sir Matthew Pinsent. A signed Beatles photo search £ 1,520 while a customer pawning a Georgian teapot pocketed £ 200.
Jim Tannahill, a director of Suttons & Robertson, said: "We have seen a lot more abstract memories of art and sport come in – swim football and signed this kind of thing. Without doubt, we see more business. There are two or three reasons: the availability of bank credit, both in terms of banks crackdown on high-risk clients and the number of real branches closing the street. But obviously the most recent factor is what happens in economy. "
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