A pre-owned goods retailer, Cash Converters is looking for franchise owners to aid its goal of opening at least 20 new stores in the UK by the end of 2010.

Cash Converters was founded in Australia in 1984 and was brought to the UK by two of its Australian franchise owners, Adam Stewart and John Strickland (pictured), in 2009. Since the opening of the first UK Cash Converters store in Ashton-under-Lyne the brand has expanded to 150 stores across the UK.

Stewart said: "John and I visited the UK in 2008 and we both saw straight away that this was a fantastic business opportunity for us. Cash Converters has seen double figure percentage increases for the last seven years, and a noticeable acceleration in growth during the last two years."

Stewart and Strickland have recently introduced a range of personal finance products in the UK, which have already seen success in Australia, The Ashton-under-Lyne store is now home to the UK operations base for the personal finance products with Stewart and Strickland appointed as agents to roll out the services to Cash Converters stores in the UK.

Stewart added: "We are currently doing business worth in excess of AUD$20million every month in Australia and the UK has the potential to exceed that amount."

The personal finance products represent a range of unsecured loans designed to solve short-term cash flow problems. Not only will these products be offered in store but also online at the Cash Converters website. Stewart and Strickland have addressed the potential pitfalls of this scheme by implementing a security system which incorporates a comprehensive database and activates extensive enquiries to ensure the customer has the ability to repay the loan.

Stewart continued: "Both cash advance and personal loans are totally unsecured and the initial application process takes just 15 minutes. As responsible lenders we have a duty of care to the customer to be thorough and only offer loan amounts which are affordable. We work closely with industry regulators to ensure we adhere stringently to best practice. We aim to keep our customers for life - it simply doesn't make sense to be anything but transparent with our policies and practices."

At present, over 10 Cash Converters stores are offering the new personal finance products and the aim is to encompass the entire network of Cash Converters stores by summer 2011.

Chief Executive of Cash Converters UK, David Patrick, said: "This new venture reinforces Cash Converters position as a leading high street retailer who responds to the needs of their customers. Adam and John's experience has proved invaluable - they have been the main drivers behind what we think will prove to be one of the most innovative developments for the business in the last decade."

Published: 16 June 2010

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