Too posh to pawn? Think again...
There was one woman who thought her shiny hair straighteners were solid gold," says Lin Head, a pawnbroker of more than 10 years. "That was a bit of a strange one.
"We get a lot of teeth too. People think they're solid gold but they're filled with enamel – they take them out in the shop and we just have to politely say 'can you pop them back in please'.
"Then there's the fake watches, the ones you buy on holiday. People bring them in thinking they are real and we have to tell them that, unfortunately, they're not genuine.
"The reactions you get when you break that sort of news vary: some people storm out and others just chuckle and go 'yeah, I thought as much'."
Lin works at H&T Pawnbrokers, which is experiencing a boom in custom following the Channel 4 series, Posh Pawn. The hit documentary goes behind the scenes of Prestige Pawnbrokers, a high-end Surrey-based business that deals in everything from helicopters to Lamborghinis, mini-submarines to Hermès handbags. Not to mention diamonds. There's lots of diamonds.
Led by slick former property developer James Constantinou, Prestige has become the go-to place for the well-healed who want fast cash, with a Lowry, Picasso and even a £1 million page of the Koran all crossing the threshold. The series has proved so popular, H&T, which has 194 stores across the country, has now changed its policy to accept more expensive and exclusive items. Its new adverts even include pictures of a Maserati and the Mona Lisa – talk about wishful thinking.
"We've noticed so many more people coming into the shop and ringing us up since Posh Pawn," says Wolverhampton city centre store manager Hayley Wood, who has been in the business for four years. "As a result, we're now taking cars, boats, fine art, designer handbags and the like. You'd be surprised what people have!
"Although we've dealt with things like diamonds and Rolexes for years."
"Yes, that's right," adds Lin. "We're trained to check things like Rolexes and Tags to make sure they're real and then we get outside experts to certify them too. The business is so varied: one minute you'll be doing a loan for £20,000 and the next £15. No day is ever the same – and, obviously, the prices are changing all the time.
"There is no such thing as an average customer, an average transaction. Although, I would say gold is still the most common item we trade in."
The UK pawnbroking market is now worth £1 billion, with the more upmarket lenders accounting for around £100 million of that. But it's a business that's thriving in general, with the number of shops rising by nearly four-fold in the past six years from 600 to 2,150.
H&T is the biggest pawnbrokers in the country, and Hayley said staff are seeing more walks of life in the shops than ever before. On average, a H&T customer will take out a loan over a six-month period and pay back £9.99 per month for every £100 borrowed. As well as the bread-and-butter transactions in gold, silver and diamonds, H&T now buys and lends on fine wines, mobile phones and prestigious ornaments.
But why do people walk through the doors in the first place?
"Money is certainly tighter since 2008 and there are lots of people who have wealth but it's tied up in their assets," explains Hayley. "There are all sorts of people who need to raise cash and they need it for all sorts of reasons – it could be to pay for school uniforms or a school trip, to pay the gas bill or tax demand – we all have bills to pay and sometimes cash is tight and the bank isn't always an option.
"The biggest misconception is that pawnbrokers are dark back-street businesses: we are not! It's a business that has been going for thousands of years and offers a service that helps thousands of people every day deal with cash flow issues. We're don't hide away, we're a proud business, part of the community and we're always raising money for charity too. At the minute, we've raised more than £200 for Cancer Research UK."
"I agree that people see us as the less intimating option to the banks," adds Lin. "We're more friendly, we have a more human face. It's a job where you definitely meet all different kinds of people and have highs and lows. Obviously, there are some difficult customers but you'd get that in any public-facing job.
"Most of the customers trust us, they've been coming to us for years."
That's a sentiment that the new pawnbroker posterboy agrees with 100 per cent.
"I knew people living in million-pound houses with Ferraris on the drive who were short on funds,' Prestige's James said recently. "These people had built up wealth in cars and jewellery but couldn't use them as collateral. You can have a picture hanging on the wall behind you that's worth £20,000, but you can't take a painting into a bank to raise capital. Yet you can bring it to us and within 10 minutes walk out with a large amount of cash or a bank draft.
"Basically, it all boils down to: as long as it doesn't breathe, we'll take it. Where else can you say that?."
Elizabeth Joyce
