Brits `increasingly pawning possessions as credit tightens`

29 September 2008

Consumers in the UK are increasingly relying on pawning their possessions as financial service providers become less willing to lend money.

This is according to pawnbroking firm Albermarle & Bond, which has revealed annual profits of £46.9 million, a rise of over 40 per cent compared with last year.

Chairman of the firm Charles Nicolson said: "Market conditions remain favourable and we have seen an increase in the number of customers across our core pawnbroking business, driven in part by the tighter lending criteria required by mainstream lenders."

The biggest area of growth was said to be in the sale of second-hand jewellery, which accounted for three-quarters of overall sales.

Writing in the Times recently, James Jones from Experian suggested that people seeking loans in the UK are now subject to much stricter eligibility criteria than they were in the past as banks become less willing to supply credit.

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