‘I AM HERE TO MAKE MONEY, NOT FRIENDS’
JAMES CONSTANTINOU
DURING almost a decade at the high end of the pawnbroking business James Constantinou thought he’d seen it all. Ferraris, diamond rings, yachts and helicopters owned by cash-strapped clients have all passed through his hands.
But the 50-year-old star of Channel 4’s Posh Pawn admits that even he was taken aback when he was offered 15 Nigerian fighter jets. The aircraft apparently came with genuine documentation but he’s still scratching his head over whether he was being taken for a ride.
“We do get regular inquiries about aeroplanes but in this case I made a few calls and in the end decided not to touch them,” says James. “But I’m a wheeler dealer and will consider anything. You can’t afford to be snooty in the pawnbroking business and variety is part of the reason I love the job.”
Among other unusual items that have come his way are a chunk of moon rock, a piece of Charles and Diana’s wedding cake and a pair of knickers said to have been worn by Queen Victoria. Clients have included rock stars, actresses, singers, supermodels and sportsmen.
Posh Pawn is back for its latest run and has been a surprise hit since first airing in 2013, becoming Channel 4’s highest rating factual show with up to 1.5 million viewers. According to James, a former property developer who branched out when the recession struck in 2008, the show is helping pawnbroking shed its rather seedy image.
“People have a misconception that it’s a Dickensian type of industry,” he says, “but when we put the show out we were able to demonstrate how modern pawnbroking really works. In terms of getting hold of money for shortterm funding it’s actually cheaper than borrowing from the banks.
“There shouldn’t be anything shameful about using a pawnbroker. It’s just an alternative way of raising money.”
At their peak at the end of the 19th century, pawnbrokers in the UK outnumbered pubs. It became a working-class tradition to hock the Sunday-best suit to keep the family finances afloat until the next pay packet. Then there was a decline and by the 1970s there were only about 50 remaining. Now, as the banks clamp down on lending, the industry is resurgent and worth an estimated £100million a year.
James opened his first branch in Weybridge, Surrey, after spotting a gap at the top end of the market. “I had friends who were driving around in Jags and Bentleys and had wine collections and pieces of art. They had good businesses but when the banks pulled the plug on lending these people suddenly found themselves cash poor. That’s how I got started in pawnbroking.
“Nobody seemed to be targeting the high end. You can sit there for 10 years dealing in sovereigns and fob watches but the money is in bigger assets.” At the time James, who was expelled from school when he was in his teens and left without qualifications, knew nothing about the industry. So he posed as a wealthy aristocrat called Sir Douglas Antwerp, who was down on his luck, so he could glean from existing brokers how the business worked.
“I was also quite fortunate that my father was into wine, I have a close friend who knows his art and I’m knowledgeable about cars,” James adds. “That was the three main areas covered but to be honest at the beginning we were on a wing and a prayer.”
The star of Channel 4 hit Posh Pawn on an offer of 15 fighter jets, the conman with the gold-plated phone and turning a fast buck in a £100m market
NOW he’s the boss of Prestige Pawnbrokers, which also has branches in London’s Hatton Garden, Manchester and Richmond-on-Thames. He employs 20 people, deals in assets worth millions of pounds every year and is planning to expand in the UK and overseas.
“We have contacts throughout the world now who have seen the show,” says James, whose fiancée Claudia Valentin is the business’s handbag expert. Recently she dealt with a collection of 50 designer bags, worth up to £40,000 apiece. Customers enter into a sevenmonth arrangement, offering an asset in exchange for a cash loan. The interest rate depends on the saleability of the item but can range from 1.5 per cent to 9 per cent a month.
During this period the client can buy back the goods or they are eventually sold by James through his online store or an auction house. Once the outstanding debt to the broker is paid any cash left over goes to the client. About eight out of 10 people are able to reclaim their possessions.
“You need the right type of client and I love some of the amazing and colourful characters I meet,” says James. “If there’s a profit in it, we will take almost anything, unless there’s a moral issue. We’ve turned down Nazi memorabilia.
“Jewellery and watches account for about 70 per cent of what we do, along with motor vehicles. We’ve had a £1million Bugatti Veyron.
“Of course there are rogues out there who try to pull the wool over your eyes but you get a feel for the dodgy ones. Sometimes it’s a whole performance and they will turn up in a flashy car, with a convincing sounding background story, trying to offer a fake piece of art. One conman even had a gold-plated phone and a cravat.
“The genuine ones tend to be more discreet and want to come in through the back door.”
James is deliberately non-flashy and the shop front of Prestige Pawnbrokers in Weybridge is modest. Anyone peering through the window will notice only a plain counter and sofa – there’s no bling on view and all the valuables being held are safely stored away.
Artwork crossing the threshold in the past includes a Lowry and a Picasso, while rows of classic cars are stored in secure garages.
Often James encounters cases of real misfortune, when there’s been a business deal gone sour, or a messy divorce, and the client needs ready cash.
“You do sometimes feel a bit like an agony aunt,” he says. “I don’t need to know why they are offering me their valuables but you get the feeling they are trying to explain why they are in this predicament.
“The pawnbroking industry is very well regulated now and no one can operate without a licence. I guess a few people think we’re exploiting people’s misfortune but it’s no different to any other form of lending. I try to be very straight with everyone and our terms are crystal clear.
“I’m actually quite proud of what we’ve achieved, starting from nothing. People are fully aware of what they are getting into and I always suggest that they try not to borrow against items that have sentimental value, such as granny’s wedding ring.”
But just in case anyone thinks he’s a soft touch James stresses: “At the end of the day I am here to make money, not friends.” A new series of Posh Pawn starts on Channel 4 tonight at 8pm