Can pawnbroking help you during the current cost of living crisis?

James Constantinou speaks about Pawnbroking and how it can be used during the current #costoflivingcrisis to the Big Issue.

Pawnbrokers are fascinated by objects. Glistening Rolex watches, gold wedding rings, ornate antiques which have outlived generations. It is a world draped in luxury, but pawnbrokers often deal with people on the brink of financial crisis.?

For those with nowhere else to turn, pawnbroking can be a lifeline – and people are increasingly pawning their belongings for a quick injection of cash as the?cost of living?soars.?

“People are really struggling to make ends meet,” says James Constantinou, the chief executive of the national chain of high-end Prestige Pawnbrokers. “Phones are ringing off the walls, with people from all walks of life and industries.”

Constinatinou’s business attracts high-profile customers with high-value items – designer handbags, Lamborghinis and diamond bracelets. But people across income brackets turn to pawnbrokers for loans, usually around 50 to 70 per cent of the item’s secondhand value. The?average loan is ￡300.

“If pawnbroking became unavailable then it could have serious – bleak – consequences for some low-income households,” says Jake Shepherd, a researcher at the Social Market Foundation which published a?report?on the importance of pawnbroking last year. “For example by them having less scope to spend on essentials like food, heating or rent.”

“For short-term funding, borrowing is actually less expensive than a bank,” Constantinou says. “It’s convenient and instant. There’s no credit checks, no proof of income required. You can get your money within 20 minutes. If you’re going to a bank, you’ve got to jump through hoops. And it doesn’t work in a lot of instances. It can take three or four months, and you probably won’t get enough.”