FirstCash offers 661p in cash Proposal pitched at 44% premium Takeover to improve H&T's positioning Pawnbroker-to-jewellery retailer H&T (HAT:AIM) looks set to become the latest British growth company to leave the stock market after recommending a £297 million takeover offer from US peer FirstCash (FCFS:NASDAQ). Shares in the Sutton-headquartered pawn shops operator shot up 40% to 640p on...

Positive momentum in H1Retail jewellery outperformsProfit to be 'at least £13 million'Pawnbroker-to-financial services provider Ramsdens (RFX:AIM) has upgraded its full-year profit guidance yet again after benefiting from the high price of gold, north of $3,000 per ounce, and a stronger-than-anticipated performance from its retail jewellery business.Shares in the Middlesbrough-headquartered...

Next executive director sells £2.6 million sharesRamsdens director sells 125,000 sharesGreggs director sells £1.85 million sharesJeremy Stakol, executive director at fashion and homeware retailer Next (NXT) and his wife Marcelle Stakol have sold 26,523 shares at £98.79 for a total value of £2.6 million on 10 October.Stakol's move comes after the company raised its year-to-January-2025...

Continued strong trading in first five monthsRecord gold price boosts gross profitBoard highly confident in meeting full year expectationsPawnbroker and financial services provider Ramsdens (RFX:AIM) said trading in the five months to 29 February continued to be strong, positive news that boosted the shares by 5% to 190p.In a statement ahead of the company?s annual general meeting, the board...

Pre-tax profits for the year expected to be 10% below market forecastsPre-Christmas retail trading challengingDemand for core pawnbroking at ?record levels?Shares in H&T (HAT:AIM) were down over 17% to 329p in morning trading despite the UK?s biggest pawnbroker reporting a ?robust? performance in the fourth quarter of the year.Aggregate lending in 2023 amounted to £260 million, an increase of...

Record annual profit tops £10 millionCost pressures to impact 2024 profitDividend up 16% in move to progressive growthShares in pawnbroker and jewellery retailer Ramsdens (RFX:AIM) fell 5% on Monday after the company flagged increased energy and staff costs amid continued macroeconomic challenges facing consumers.The shares have lost around 6% over the past year and are sit 20% below the...

Strong trading continued in the second halfAnnual profits topped £10 millionPrecious metals the standout performerPawnbroker and jewellery retailer Ramsdens (RFX:AIM) delivered record profits in the year ended 30 September 2023 as the cost-of-living crisis drove bumper demand for pawnbroking and gold buying, news that triggered a 5.5% share price rally to 200p.Drawing strength from its...

Profits rocket as cost-of-living squeeze stokes demandHalf-time dividend lifted 22%Ramsdens carries positive momentum into second-half periodShares in Ramsdens (RFX:AIM) rose 3% to a new all-time high of 255p after the pawnbroker and jewellery retailer reported a 68% surge in pre-tax profits to £3.7 million for the six months to March 2023, driven by strong trading across its...

- First half trading ahead of expectations- Pawnbroking loan book reaches record levels- Ramsdens raises full year profit guidanceShares in Ramsdens (RFX:AIM) rose 3.5% to 225p after the pawnbroker-to-jewellery retailer raised profit guidance for the year to September 2023 following strong first half trading across all four of the diversified and defensive group's divisions.Chief executive...

Pawnbroker-to-jewellery retailer Ramsdens (RFX:AIM) has rallied hard off its Covid lows and shares in the Middlesbrough-based company are up 18% year-to-date. Yet despite such strength, we think the share price rise has further to go, with group profits now ahead of pre-pandemic levels. Consider this a short-term trade rather than a long-term investment.Like peer H&T (HAT:AIM), Ramsdens is...

In times of economic strife, pawnbrokers typically see a pick-up in trade as cash-strapped individuals seek ways of getting money to help pay the bills. Business is certainly booming for pawnbroker H&T (HAT:AIM) whose share price has more than doubled since October 2020 and up by more than 60% over the past year alone.In recent years H&T, which also sells high quality new and pre-owned...

- Ramsdens is the latest pawnbroker to raise earnings guidance- H&T's share price close to all-time high- Both companies are upbeat on prospectsThe pawnbroking industry, which struggled during the pandemic as lockdowns blocked off many avenues for spend and enabled people to pay down debt, is now experiencing a boom as customers seek cash to help make ends meet.Pawnbrokers H&T (HAT:AIM) and...

-Return to profit in first half-Jewellery sales jump 62%-Dividend resumedShares in pawnbroker and currency exchange services provider Ramsdens (RFX:AIM), moved 1.8% higher to 210p following the announcement of encouraging in line results for the half-year to 31 March 2022.The Group reported pre-tax profit of £2.2million compared with a 2021 half year loss of £0.1 million. Gross revenues...

Shares in Ramsdens (RFX:AIM) rallied 3.7% to 182.5p after the jewellery retailer-to-financial services provider said it expects to report first half pre-tax profits of around £2 million and issued an encouraging outlook.With all segments of its diversified business showing strong recovery from the pandemic, Ramsdens is looking forward 'with confidence to the key summer trading period ahead'...

The latest UK retail sales figures from the ONS (Office for National Statistics) gave the market a boost heading into the weekend as they suggested consumers were in buoyant mood last month.In value terms, in other words in actual pounds and pence, we spent 10.8% more last month than we did in November 2020, which represents the strongest growth in retail sales since shops reopened in...

UK stocks continued their positive run on Tuesday after official figures showed payrolls surged by almost 200,000 in April, the fourth consecutive monthly rise and the biggest rise on record, as companies rushed to hire.The headline jobless rate fell to 4.7%, the lowest since last August, as firms chased workers and the government was able to reduce furlough payments. At the peak last May, the...

UK stocks made modest gains in early trade on Tuesday as tougher restrictions were imposed across London and other parts of the south-east to curb a rise in Covid-19 infections.Investors continue to cling on to fading hopes of a Brexit trade deal with the European Union before a year-end deadline, while latest UK jobless data made for gloomy reading.Official data showed the unemployment rate...

Shares in financial and retail group Ramsdens (RFX:AIM) jumped 9% to 155p after it delivered strong results for the 12 months to 31 March and said could reopen stores with minimal additional investment.Revenue for the period climbed 27% to £59.5m, while pre-tax profit rose 30% to £8.5m helped by the rise in the gold price and the timely sale of old jewellery stock which netted £0.8m of...

London's FTSE 100 opened stronger on Wednesday, up 53 points at 6,120.72 early on as optimism that economies were recovering from the COVID-19 crisis offset concerns about rising political tensions in Hong Kong that have soured US-Sino relations.Wealth manager St James's Place (STJ) improved 4.7% to 917.8p on news it had boosted funds under management during April, with management also...

Donald Trump's move to slap tariffs on Brazil and Argentina stoked fresh concerns over global trade pushing UK stocks down in early trading. The FTSE 100 was off 0.2% to 7,272 while the FTSE 250 gave up 5 points at 20,676.Plumbing and heating distributor Ferguson (FERG) reported underlying profit up 5% to $433m for the three months to October while also maintaining its full year expectations...