Pawn Shop Opens in London Financial District By Catherine Drew London 21 April 2009 London pawn shop The first pawnbroker to open in Londons financial district in nearly a decade says its doing a healthy business, a result of the economic downturnpany spotted a good opportunity. "We saw a gap in the market, we realized that there wasnt a pawnbrokers in the square mile, and we decided it was a risk worth taking with the credit crunch affecting peoples ability to get credit from mainstream financial institutions," said Michael Julian. "Were offering an alternative to them." City workers are turning to the fancy baubles they bought when times were good, to get through leaner days. Valuables can be exchanged for loans, with six months to repay, or the item belongs to the pawnbroker. One customer who refused to give his name said the company opened at just the right time. "Well I read it in the paper that a Nikolas Michael were opening up," he said. "Its quite a rare thing because of the credit crunch and stuff, so I came along to pawn some goods Ive got, get some hard earned cash." The company says business is booming. Michael Julian says many people are bringing in high-end items to exchange for loans. "Theyre bringing in Rolex watches; theyre bringing in Cartier watches, diamond jewelry, anything," he said. "Theyre bringing in designer jewelry as well, say Tiffany and Jaeger, brands like that which are very high end." Times are tough in the City of London, even for those whove kept their jobs, but not everyone likes the idea of pawning their belongings. "Mid recession, any money you can get is good money to be honest, but from what you get there and what youre tied into doing, I dont think its necessarily the best thing to do, Id still go through typical sources," he said. "The credit crunch is hitting, every family quite hard these days so I have given it some thought already so yes unfortunately," he said. A pawnbroker opening in the heart of Londons financial district could indicate how hard city workers have been hit by the economic crisis. Its success could mean that workers believe a recovery is some way off.