Pawnbroker firm H&T Group has announced a 12.5% rise in profit before tax to £9.9m in its first half results.

The London-based group attributed its increased profitability in the six months to 30 June to strong demand for foreign currency as well as higher gold prices.

H&T, which is also a retailer of jewellery and watches, reported a 27% increase in sales in this part of the business to £29.3m in H1, while the capital value of the group’s pledge book rose to £105m, up from £101m in December 2023.

Pledge lending in the group’s first six months increased by 14% to £146m, up from £128m last year.

H&T CEO, Chris Gillespie, said: “Our core pawnbroking business continues to attract increasing numbers of new and returning customers, for whom alternative sources of small sum regulated lending are much constrained.

“Retail sales have also been encouraging, with margins on all product categories improving in the second quarter and expected to further improve through the remainder of 2024. This performance has been supported by growing demand for our foreign currency service and improved margins on over-the-counter gold purchase.”

In February this year, H&T acquired a pawnbroking pledge book amounting to £5.5m from Maxcroft Securities, which also has a successful foreign currency business.

Gillespie revealed that this integration was “proceeding as planned”, with valuable insights being applied in other stores.

He added: “We have begun to apply our learnings from their foreign currency business to selected H&T stores, and we have seen an increase in footfall and sales as a result.

“We remain focused on growing and broadening our core pawnbroking business and investing in the store estate.”

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