A South African entrepreneur is cashing in on the soaring gold price by opening a chain of gold coin shops across Britain.
Alan Demby, who opened The Scoin Shop's flagship store at Westfield in east London, is planning stores around Britain selling Olympic coins and other commemorative gold products.
Mr Demby said that although he hoped to attract those who wanted to collect gold coins as a hobby, interest in gold had been piqued by rising prices. "Most people do want to make money out of their collections," he said, describing the investments as akin to buying art.
"I want to make gold accessible and for buying it to be pleasureable," he added. The company already has shops in Bluewater and the Westfield centre in Shepherd's Bush.
The price of gold has trebled in the past decade, making investing in it a more mainstream activity. Although many people buy gold through mining shares and funds, it has also become easier for ordinary investors to hold physical gold. For example, Bullionvault allows people to buy gold ingots, and there is a gold vending machine at Westfield in Shepherd's Bush, which updates its prices every 10 minutes.
Scoin's fastest selling coin to date has been a £1,750 coin commemorating the royal wedding, brought out this Summer.
Source:
Rosie Murray-West
Daily Telegraph, 18 September 2011
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