LONDON (Reuters) - Pawnbroker H&T said on Monday it is trading "well ahead" of current market expectations, buoyed by soaring gold prices and its growing gold-buying operations.
The UK's largest pawnbroker said it has opened 56 retail mall units, where consumers can sell their unwanted jewellery for its scrap value.
But H&T remains cautious over the sustainability of profits from these new operations, which have been boosted by media campaigns from rivals, and will not alter its forecast for 2010.
Last week U.S. company Cash4Gold, one of the largest U.S. buyers of cast-off jewellery, told Reuters that it is targeting 50 million pounds of sales in its first year of operations in the UK, after launching in July.
H&T, which is targeting 122 stores by the year-end, said that its core pawnbroking and retail business is also trading in line.
(Reporting by Lorraine Turner; Editing by Victoria Bryan)
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