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Pawnbroker H&T gets a Trump-shaped gold boost

The pawnbrokers have had an excellent financial year, boosted by the price of gold
November 3, 2016

Donald Trump's late surge in the US electoral polls and ultimate victory has pushed up the price of gold 4 per cent since a low on 14 October. Nervous investors once again turned to the safe-haven asset and that's been great news for pawnbroker H&T (HAT).

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H&T's year-end trading update attributed its excellent performance to the higher sterling-denominated value of gold, which supports its pawnbroking scrap and gold purchasing divisions. A rising price means the company benefits from the time lag between taking gold over the counter and selling it, and means it is also less likely to lose money on pledged items. Pre-tax profits are expected to come in ahead of market expectations.

Its lending book has also grown: at 31 October its pledge book had increased to £40.5m and the personal loans book to £8.2m, from £39.0m and £6.3m respectively on 30 June.