Pawnbroker H&T snaps up Essex firm as recession drives Brits to borrowing

Pawnbroker H&T has snapped up a fellow broker firm in Essex for £11.3m, as the business continues to profit from cash-strapped Brits amid an economic squeeze. 

This morning, the UK’s biggest pawnbroker revealed the details of its acquisition of Maxcroft, a longstanding pawnbroking business based in Essex alongside £25m of additional financing to support growth. 

H&T said the main asset being acquired from Maxcroft is its pawnbroking pledge book, amounting to £6.1m at the time of acquisition. 

The mean value of the acquired pledge loans is £4,063, which is larger than that of H&T’s mean pledge loan value of £423.

Maxcroft’s five employees will also remain in the business as part of the deal. 

H&T also secured £25m from asset management firm Pricoa to help “enable future growth in the pledge book and investment in the store portfolio.”

Chris Gillespie, H&T chief executive said: “We are very pleased to be able to announce these two transactions, both of which underline the group’s focus on growing and broadening its core pawnbroking business and investment in the store estate. 

“We are also delighted to have further diversified and enhanced the group’s funding arrangements through the relationship with Pricoa.

He added: “We look forward to updating the market further on the 12th March, when we announce our results for the year ended 31st December 2023.”

H&T has recorded an uptick in business over the last year as customers looked to sell off their possessions to shore up extra cash during the cost of living crisis.