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Pawnbrokers used to be confined to seedy back alleys. But they are ascending the social scale in the cost-of-living crisis, with shops thriving in middle-class havens such as Harrogate in north Yorkshire.
There is even a pawn shop in the City of London, for traders whose bonuses have been disappointing. People are pawning luxury goods from Rolex watches and diamonds to fine art and Rolls-Royce cars in exchange for fast cash. They are even turning to pawn shops to help pay for private school fees.
James Constantinou, the founder of Prestige Pawnbrokers, has opened a new store near Leadenhall Market in the City.
'Most people wouldn't expect a pawnbroker to be sitting there,' says Constantinou, who stars in the Posh Pawn TV show.
He has also set up shop in the well-to-do London suburb of Richmond and in the Surrey stockbroker belt town of Weybridge.
Pawn stars: James Constantinou and colleagues in Channel 4's Posh Pawn
Pawnbrokers - identified by three golden balls, a symbol of St Nicholas, who saved three girls from destitution by lending each a bag of gold so they could marry - allow people to offer items such as jewellery as collateral for loans. These often attract interest rates of more than 100 per cent a year but, crucially, require no credit check. The items are seized if the loan is not repaid - or people can sell their property instead of paying back the loan.
Two pawnbrokers, H&T and Ramsdens, are listed on the stock market, and their shares have soared in the past year. Ramsdens is up 36 per cent, while H&T is up 48 per cent. Both reported booming business in the run-up to Christmas.
People are resorting to pawnbrokers as an alternative to mainstream banks and to payday loans no credit check (official site) lending, which has been hit with a clampdown by regulators.
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H&T, which has 267 stores and a market capitalisation of £195 million, had a pledge book - the value of outstanding loans - of £99 million at the end of 2022, compared with £67 million in 2021.
Ramsdens, which has more than 150 shops and a market value of £77 million, saw its loan book swell more than 40 per cent to £8.6 million in the 12 months to the end of September alone - before the pre-Christmas rush.
Yet industry insiders say they are nowhere near 'peak pawn'.
Constantinou says consumers are desperate for short-term cash but banks are not lending, adding: 'Our phones are ringing off the wall.' London's oldest pawnbroker, Suttons & Robertsons, which was established in 1770, saw a 'big jump in business' in December, which has continued this year, according to director Jim Tannahill.
In the pre-Christmas rush, more than half of its new customers were first-timers to pawn shops who used their loans for such things as paying private school fees and tax demands that needed settling in January.
Peter Kenyon, boss of Ramsdens, says a 'very simple' business model without time-consuming credit checks is appealing to people who need money in a hurry. More customers have been flocking to his stores to pawn items such as chains, rings and watches 'right across the spectrum of society,' he says.
The industry is still controversial. Interest rates are high, with the charges set by the likes of H&T and Ramsdens sitting at just below 120 per cent a year. The businesses argue this is still far less than that charged by payday lenders.
'A lot of people may try to claim that pawnbrokers are taking advantage of the cost-of-living crisis,' Kenyon says. 'But it offers consumers an immediate solution and then time to sort themselves out.'
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