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OUT-OF-WORK oil executives are pawning their flashy cars and designer watches to keep the wolf from the door.

The global oil price crash has forced the former high rollers to claw back cash in order to ride out the downturn which has led to thousands of redundancies .

Now an Edinburgh-based pawnbroker has moved into Europe’s oil capital Aberdeen to meet the growing demand for his services.

Neil Mitchinson, director of Edinburgh Asset Finance (EAF), revealed: “It’s not across the board by any stretch but there are certainly people who are in need of some short-term finance.

“We are dealing with both business owners and contractors formerly at a senior level with some of the big oil companies.

“We’ve opened an appraisal office in Aberdeen and over the last 12 months we’ve seen a steady increase in the number of inquiries from that area.”

He said men were coming to them with Rolex watches and high-end vehicles, and women tended to bring in jewellery.

Neil said most people needed a short-term financial fix, perhaps to pay a tax bill, and only around five per cent of customers failed to reclaim their property.

He said: “Everybody who wants their assets back gets them back.

“We’re not cheap but we’re a world away from the high street in terms of the rates we charge.

“We have no retail element so anything we do get left with goes straight to auction.

“We’re not in the buying-and-selling game.”

Entrepreneur Neil has a warehouse full of Ferraris, Range Rovers, Porsches and other expensive cars which are being held as security.

Among the first items to be sacrificed by struggling oil workers are expensive watches made by the likes of Rolex, Breitling, Cartier, Panerai and Patek Philippe.

Neil said high rollers in Aberdeen were mostly pragmatic about their need to realise cash in a hurry through upmarket pawn, borrowing against items which they can live without for a little while.

He said: “It is no secret that the local economy up there is going through a bad spell.

“It’s a sad indictment of the times but we’ve seen an upturn in business from Aberdeen in the last 12 to 18 months.

“Aberdeen is an exceptionally asset-rich city in terms of the overt wealth that is about. Even compared with Edinburgh there seems to be a lot more high-end cars and bling.

“Some of the reasons for people coming to see us have been oil business owners where it’s been HMRC that have been looking for their money.

(Image: Daily Record)

“They can give 14 or 21 days to come up with some tax demands and to keep things afloat people are bringing into play other assets.

“The fact that we can operate same day or within 24 hours makes it quite an attractive option.”

Neil’s business, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, offers seven-month loans from £1000 to £250,000, with interest rates typically ranging from three to seven per cent.

He said a Rolex Submariner worth around £5000 would secure a loan of £3000 fairly comfortably.

Neil said: “They’ve gone up in price over the last decade where other brands have struggled - it’s a very bankable watch.”

Cash has been secured by items including original oil paintings and other high-end works of art, fancy cars and even a shooting estate.

He said: “These are things people treasure and they want them back.”