A PAWNBROKING firm has seen sales almost double to £27m this year as thousands of people take advantage of rising gold prices to get their hands on some cash as the recession continues.
Middlesbrough-based Ramsdens is meeting the growing demand for quick money not only by opening stores nationwide but by building pre-fabricated units and installing them in shopping centres. It has already put the units in centres in Durham, Leeds and Glasgow, Perth and Livingston in Scotland and is looking at more sites.
They bring the company’s total portfolio of sites to just under 50, with the firm also more than doubling its workforce in the last year from 110 to 235 in order to handle the growing number of people pawning in their old jewellery to cash in on the rocketing price of gold.
The price of gold continues to break records and currently sits at around $1,120 an ounce, which has encouraged many people to trade in their unwanted jewellery.
This has meant a boom time for pawnbrokers such as Ramsdens, which is enjoying its fastest rate of growth since setting up in the North East in the 1950s.
Chief executive Peter Kenyon now expects to add another 30 stores to the chain, including five pre-fab units, which will create a further 120 jobs, 20 of which will be based in the North East.
Although he said that there were a few uncertainties in the market, he expected the gold price to continue to rise as a result of weakening foreign and domestic currencies and the decision by Governments around the world to top up their reserves.
He said: “As has been widely reported, gold has been a major source of growth for the pawnbroking industry. As a result we have seen our sales almost double over the last 12 months, which has led to job creation in the North East and elsewhere.
“You can never be certain when the boom in gold will end, but at the moment it is looking very strong in the long term. We also seen growth in other areas of the business through the creation of our new website and expect to have a good 2010.”
However, Mr Kenyon said he is concerned that some of the new online or market stall ‘cash for gold’ businesses were bringing the industry into disrepute by promising much and delivering too little.
He said: “The price of gold is very high at the moment and people who have got unused jewellery at home should consider cashing it in.
“However, it has been shown that valuations between these online businesses varies wildly, with many outfits promising top dollar but sending back massively scaled down offers in the post.
“The situation isn’t made any better by one-man desks in the middle of shopping centres that make the industry seem a little shady.
“I have no problem with the increased competition, but it is important that fairness is practised throughout.”
You can never be certain when the boom in gold will end, but it looks strong in the long term
