Pawnbroker H&T halts short-term loans as FCA launches review Shares plunge as company warns it could have to compensate customers

One of Britain’s biggest pawnbrokers has suspended its unsecured cash loans business and warned that it may have to pay compensation to customers as the City regulator reviews its operations. H&T, which operates 254 pawnshops across the UK, said it is “working closely with the Financial Conduct Authority following a regulatory review of certain aspects and files of its high-cost short-term credit (‘HCSTC’) unsecured loans business … The group has ceased all HCSTC unsecured lending, at least temporarily, as it works through this review process.”

The announcement to the stock market sent shares in H&T crashing by nearly a quarter at one stage, but they pulled back to losses of about 15%. Until the announcement, H&T, a business valued at about £120m, had been one of the best-performing small shares on the AIM market over the last year.

Source: The Guardian
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