A pawnbroking company yesterday hailed the “changing face” of the industry after becoming the first to join the UK’s main retail trade body.
Albemarle and Bond Holdings is the first pawnbroking business to join the British Retail Consortium (BRC), whose main role is to lobby government on behalf of retailers.
The BRC membership covers 140 Albemarle and Bond and Herbert Brown high street stores which offer pawnbroking, short-term loans, gold-buying and jewellery retailing.
Twenty of the stores opened in the past 12 months and the company has just posted record profits.
It described the move as a “significant step in the changing perceptions of pawnbroking and the company becoming a mainstream presence on the UK high street”. The BRC said other pawnbrokers were welcome to consider joining the body.
Albemarle and Bond chief executive officer Barry Stevenson said membership of the BRC was “recognition of the important role pawnbrokers play in today’s economy, taking the space banks have freely vacated in customers’ minds”.
He said: “We operate a 21st century business that offers very high standards of value, convenience and service to its customers in pleasant, modern and friendly retail environments.
“Significant numbers of people already benefit from our services but the reality is that only around one per cent of the population has ever been in to a pawnbroker. We want to change that and are committed to making our services even more accessible, opening more stores and creating further employment opportunities.
“We are looking forward to working closely with the BRC to learn from and share best practice as well as educating the public, media and government on the changing face of pawnbroking.”
BRC director general Stephen Robertson said: “Albemarle and Bond Holdings, through its two store formats, has a fast-growing customer base and impressive store rollout programme.
“We welcome them as jewellery retailers and pawnbrokers into the BRC as they play an increasingly important part in the economy of our local high streets.
The BRC is proud to represent UK retailing in all its forms and Albemarle and Bond’s very welcome decision to join us is further evidence of the value our campaigning brings to retailers whether they are small and large, online or store-based, whether they’re selling jewellery, jeans or jam.”