26 May 2009 07:00
ALBEMARLE & BOND HOLDINGS PLC
("Albemarle & Bond" or the "Company")
TRADING UPDATE
Albemarle & Bond, the UK's largest pawnbroking business with 114 branches across the country, announces that it has traded ahead of the Board's expectations in recent months and results for the year ending 30 June 2009 are now expected to be significantly ahead of market expectations.
The following represent some of the key points behind the Company's strong trading performance:
Pawnbroking the Company's core business has benefited from the higher price of gold which has enhanced the yield on unredeemed loans.
Commenced the introduction of gold buying across the store portfolio from January 2009 which had an immediately positive impact and is now in place across the Group.
Retail sales have been ahead of last year.
Greville Nicholls, Chief Executive of Albemarle & Bond, said, "The Company will deliver a strong trading result for this financial year and looking ahead, we will continue to focus on expanding our network of UK stores both through the opening of greenfield sites and through acquisition."
Enquiries:
| Greville Nicholls Chief Executive | Albemarle & Bond Holdings plc | 0118 955 8100 |
| David Pattinson Finance Director | ||
| Nick Reeve David Abbott | Smith & Williamson Corporate Finance Limited | 0117 376 2213 |
| Tim Robertson Shan Shan Willenbrock Catherine Maitland | Cardew Group | 020 7930 0777 |
To access more information on the company please visit: www.albemarlebond.com