Half-year earnings rise 12.5% at UK’s largest pawnbroker H&T

H&T’s lending business rose 14% on last year’s figure to £146m. Photograph: Richard Saker/The Guardian

The UK’s largest pawnbroker has reported a rise in profits as its customers sought to secure small, quick loans against jewellery and watches, in a sign of the continuing strain of the cost of living crisis.

H&T, which has 280 shops in the UK, said pre-tax profits had risen by 12.5% to £9.9m in the first six months of 2024 on the same period a year earlier.