Fort Worth-based FirstCash to expand its pawn shop empire with U.K. acquisition
Fort Worth-based FirstCash, an international giant in retail pawn shops, announced Wednesday an agreement to acquire the leading pawn shop company in the United Kingdom.
Pending approval in the U.K., the cash deal would be worth about $394 million when it closes in the second half of 2025, significantly expanding FirstCash’s footprint to a total of about 3,300 stores.
The acquisition of H&T Group PLC will make FirstCash the largest publicly traded pawn platform the United States, Latin America and the United Kingdom.
H&T is a well-recognized brand — it was founded in 1890 — and currently has 285 pawn stores in the U.K. It is known as being a leading retailer of high-quality new and preowned jewelry and watches.
FirstCash, which has about 20,000 employees and 3,000 stores in the U.S. and Latin America, says the deal opens the door to potential future expansion into key European markets.
“This strategic transaction provides an entry into a significant new market which we believe will unlock additional growth opportunities for the Company,” Rick Wessel, the FirstCash CEO and board vice chairman, said in a statement. “We have great confidence in H&T’s continued success given their proven track record coupled with their experienced management and operations teams.”
Wessel has been at the helm of FirstCash since the company formed in 2016 out of a merger of two Tarrant County-based pawn companies: Cash America International, founded in 1983, and First Cash Financial Services, which got its start in 1988. The merged company put its headquarters in the Cash America building off West Seventh Street near Trinity River. At the time, the new company had more than 2,000 stores with an estimated market value of $2.4 billion.
In April, FirstCash reported record results for the first quarter driven by revenue from its pawn operations as well as strong operating margins of American First Finance, a wholly owned subsidiary that provides no-credit payment options. The company saw robust demand for pawn loans, marking seven consecutive quarters of double-digit growth in same-store pawn receivables.
FirstCash’s total revenue for the 12 months ending March 31 was a record $3.4 billion. Of its 3,000 retail locations, nearly 1,200 are in the United States (including 486 in Texas). It has 1,724 stores in Mexico, and about 100 between Colombia, El Salvador and Guatemala
This story was originally published May 14, 2025 at 4:17 PM.
