- The average value of pledge loans acquired is £4,063, H&T said
Pawnbroker and second-hand jewelery seller H&T Group has acquired a selection of assets from the Essex-based company Maxcroft Securities for £11.3 million in cash.
H&T shares rose 0.54 percent or 2.00p to 372.00p on Wednesday afternoon, having fallen more than 16 percent in the past year.
Aim-listed H&T said the main asset acquired from Maxcroft was the pawn book, worth around £6.1m.
Deal: Pawnbroker and second-hand jewelery seller H&T Group has acquired a selection of assets from Essex-based Maxcroft
H&T said the nature of the acquired pawn book’s collateral items were in line with that of H&T’s existing pawnshop operations and “consists primarily of gold, jewelry and watches, with a similar asset mix.”
The average value of pledge loans acquired is £4,063, which is much greater than H&T’s average value of £423.
On Wednesday, H&T also announced £25 million in additional funding to support the company’s future growth, from Pricoa Private Capital, the private equity arm of PGIM.
H&T said the additional cash injection would enable future growth of its property portfolio, as well as investment in its retail portfolio.
Chris Gillespie, CEO of H&T, said: “We are very pleased to announce these two transactions, both of which underline the group’s focus on growing and broadening its core pawnbroking and retail complex investments.
“We are also pleased to have further diversified and enhanced the group’s financing arrangements through the relationship with Pricoa.
‘We look forward to providing further information to the market on March 12, when we announce our results for the year ending December 31, 2023.’
Maxcroft has been trading from a shop in Ilford, Essex for over 40 years. H&T will enter into a lease agreement for the store. Five employees will join H&T.