Pawnbrokers boom as economy slumps

Nathan Mar-Gerrison has been using the same pawn shop in Wolverhampton city centre for more than a decade.

On his last visit to Cleveland Gold, in Cleveland Street, the the 34-year-old got £55 for two gold bracelets and a ring.

Mr Mar-Gerrison, of Low Hill, said he had every intention of claiming his jewellery back and was prepared to pay the monthly interest rate of eight per cent.

He is one of a growing band of people willing to turn to pawnbrokers to get their hands on cash. Many have no option. Some have no bank accounts. Others have poor credit history and simply get turned away from banks.

Mr Mar-Gerrison said: “I’m unemployed at the moment and am pawning my stuff to get a bit of extra cash. I’ll use the money to pay my bills and then claim my things back when I’m in a better financial position.

“I’ve been coming here for more than 10 years as they are really reliable.

“Pawning my things suits me, it’s so quick and convenient. It’s great when you need a bit of extra cash in your pocket quickly. Things can be difficult when you’re unemployed so I’m glad I’ve got this option.”

Mr Mar-Gerrison said he had no qualms about putting his jewellery in but said he sympathised with people who were forced to pawn items that were special to them.

Cleveland Gold has just been bought by Harvey and Thompson, the country’s leading pawnbroking company that has 93 stores nationwide.

Times are good for the pawnbroking business. The company is currently giving the small shop a £100,000 makeover. As of next month, it will trade as Harvey and Thompson.

To many, pawnbrokers still carry a certain stigma, conjuring up Dickensian images of downtrodden characters and shady, backstreet stores. But these days, the slick stores are a cross between a bank and a jewellers and are experiencing a boom in business.

But with the annual rate of interest for many customers at more than 100 per cent, the custom is not without its critics. Wolverhampton city centre is home to three pawnbrokers, Carats Jewellers & Pawnbrokers, in Queen Street, Cleveland Gold, in Cleveland Street, and Cash Converters, in Salop Street. All three said business was on the up as more and more people turned to them for a quick financial fix - many of them far younger than their traditional customers.

Testament to this is 19-year-old Sarah Southall, from Oxley. The unemployed youngster regularly buys and sells goods at Cash Converters.

Miss Southall, who was buying a bargain-bucket CD from the shop, said: “I know what they say about the high interest rates but people are willing to pay them. If people weren’t willing to pay, they couldn’t charge them - it’s as simple as that. There is a queue outside here every morning, people can’t wait to get inside.”

Slovakian-born Marek Kovac, of Hilton Road, Wednesfield, agreed that pawnbrokers were often a last resort for people.

The 27-year-old was trying to pawn his wife’s nine-carat-gold wedding ring at Cash Converters after falling on hard times since losing his job in the tiling trade 11 months ago. He said he faced a big loss on the ring but needed the cash so badly he was willing to sell it if he could find a £12 replacement inside the store that was the right size.

“I need the money and this is one of the only ways I can get it,” he said. “The ring I was going to get for £12 was not the right size, so I didn’t go through with it.”

Despite going some way to shake off its reputation as a “bad times” industry, pawnbroking clearly benefits from an economic slowdown.

One man, who only wanted to be known as Pete from Oxley, lost his job in banking in February. The 39-year-old sold 16 CDs for less than £30 to help him get through the week and put some petrol in his car, rather than the long-term option of flogging his 1996 Ford Fiesta. He said: “When you don’t work, the petrol and food prices kill you, they leave you unable to eat. I haven’t got an option other than to sell things, I’ve got rid of all my DVDs and now most of my CDs are gone.”