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Wilmington, North Carolina once had a thriving Black middle class and an elected interracial government. In 1898 white supremacists used violence to overthrow that government, kill Black residents and drive many others from the city.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
| Cash Gen UK Limited | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Private Limited |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 14 February 1994 |
| Headquarters | , United Kingdom |
Number of locations | 120+ (2018) |
| Products | New, second hand, and refurbished household goods |
| Services | |
| Revenue | £30 million (2013)[1] |
Number of employees | 500+ (2018) |
| Website | cashgenerator |
Cash Gen UK Limited,[2] trading as Cash Generator, is a United Kingdom–based Buy and Sell store. Its headquarters are in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. The retailer opened its first store in Bolton in February 1994. The company has expanded, with corporate and franchise stores, and currently has 120+ stores across the United Kingdom (2018).[citation needed]
The company describes itself as a Buy, Sell and Buy Back Store. Its core business is the buying and selling of second hand goods, mainly electrical, entertainment products and gold.
Cash Generator was founded in 1994, by British businessman Brian Lewis. Having noticed the success of a similar business in the United States, he decided to emulate the business model in the United Kingdom, and opened his first store in Bolton, Greater Manchester on Valentine's Day 1994.[3] After opening 15 corporate stores in the North of England, Lewis launched the franchise network, opening the first franchise store in 1997. The headquarters were located in Bolton until 2012, when they moved to Edinburgh.[citation needed]
Within the first year of opening, the company changed its name to Cash Generator. Brian Lewis decided upon the name after changing other elements in response to customer feedback: "When theory hits practicality, practicality always wins. For instance, the original name was 'Paragon', but we changed it because it didn't say what we did. We are a 'cash generator'."[4]
Cash Generator was 100% owned by Lewis from February 1994, until April 2008, when a management buyout was staged by three directors and in conjunction with New World Corporate Finance. The acquisition meant that the founder Lewis was bought out, remaining as a shareholding non executive director. The three directors included Julian Urry, Managing Director of Cash Generator, from 2004, previously CEO of Cash Converters, Robin Page, Franchise Director and Steve Wilkinson, Finance Director. In 2012 Axcess Financial Services Group Purchased Cash Generator to help expand its loan business – it already operated Cheque Centres Ltd. In 2017 Axcess sold Cash Generator to investors Rcapital.
On 9 April 2008, three directors, Julian Urry, financial director Steve Wilkinson and franchising director Robin Page, with additional finance from New World Corporate Finance bought out founder Brian Lewis, forming a new company (Cash Generator Holdings Limited) in the process.[5] Lewis remained as a shareholding non executive director.
In February 2010, the company launched its new 'Express' store concept, opening stores on select trunk roads and arterial routes, with high visibility and easy access for local residents.[6]
In December 2010, the company was acquired by United States-based financial services group Axcess Financial, for an undisclosed sum.[7]
In 2011 they opened 21 new stores and the company moved in to franchising. This allowed a further 29 stores ran by franchisees to open that same year. By 2015, Cash Generator owned 223 stores.[8] In December 2012, Cash Generator recruited a new managing director, Allan May, who had previously been head of operations at Comet.
In 2017, Axcess sold Cash Generator to investors Rcapital.[9]
As of June 2018, Cash Generator is a purely franchisee focused business with a defined business model with over 120 stores and 58 franchisees,[10] which includes stores ranging from Cornwall to Northern Scotland.
As of October 2026, there are 100+ Cash Generator stores operating in the United Kingdom,[citation needed] all of which are franchise operations.,[11][12] all stores are now franchise stores[10]
In 2011, it was stated that the average store receives 5,000 visits a week.[13] In 2009,[14] the company launched CashGenerator.co.uk as a fully transactional website that allows customers to browse and shop online.[15]
Some Cash Generator stores have three counters; retail, buying and financial; but it is mostly focused on Retail and Buying.
The core businesses activity is the buying and selling of second-hand goods, mainly electrical and entertainment products such as televisions, games consoles, mobile phones, games, laptops, tablets, gold and jewellery. In addition to second-hand items, the stores also sell new and refurbished domestic goods.
In each Cash Generator, the buying counter offers customers cash for their unwanted household goods and gold. The retailer also offers a "buy-back" service, where customers receive cash for an item, with the option to buy back the goods within 28 days, or renew for another 28 days. Previously, Cash Generator offered a traditional pawnbroking service, turning gold or jewellery into cash with an unlimited six-month loan against the value of goods.[citation needed]
Cash Generator only buys from over 18s, and two forms of ID are required, including photo identification and proof of address to avoid fraud.[citation needed]
Cash Generator offers a range of financial services, including cheque cashing, money transfer, foreign currency exchange in some stores. The company has a partnership with Western Union and Number One Currency. In 2015, the company ceased issuing short-term loans as the market for Payday Loans became more heavily regulated; with a greater focus on buying, selling and Buy Back. Services vary in each store so check out availability via the website.
Since its establishment in 1994, the company has shown year on year growth in all its income streams in every year it has been trading.[16] In 2009, the total retail sales of the group amounted to £73.6 million; overall gross profits were £30.1 million.[17]
Since 1997, the business has grown mainly through franchising. The total investment required to start a Cash Generator franchise was estimated between £200,000[18] and £250,000. Of this figure, between £70,000 and £80,000 was expected to be personal investment.[19] The company invited applications from Master Franchise partners for overseas markets in Europe in the past.[20]
As of 2018, the investment required to start a Cash Generator franchise is between £120,000 and £200,000; with £35,000 and £60,000 expected to be from personal investment. The company are again in the market for new franchisees within the United Kingdom, with new franchises being established in targeted geographical areas throughout the UK.
Stores originally carried the strap line "The Buy & Sell Store". Then to reflect the increasing availability of financial services, the slogan was updated to "The Buy, Sell & Loan Store". But since the move away from financial services, the slogan was updated to "Now here's a great deal!" in reference to the in-store and online deals.
Previously, the company's adopted charity was Make-A-Wish Foundation of the United Kingdom. The charity's logo appeared in the company's television advertising.[21]
The company has the following memberships and accreditations:
Source: Wikipedia. Article content is retrieved live through the MediaWiki API.
Cash Gen UK Limited, trading as Cash Generator, is a United Kingdom–based Buy and Sell store. Its headquarters are in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. The retailer opened its first store in Bolton in February 1994. The company has expanded, with corporate and franchise stores, and currently has 120+ stores across the United Kingdom (2018). The company describes itself as a Buy, Sell and Buy Back Store. Its core business is the buying and selling of second hand goods, mainly electrical, entertainment products and gold.
Stephen Eckersley Boler (23 August 1943 – 1998) was an English entrepreneur who founded a business dynasty and in later life became a conservationist in South Africa. He was born on 23 August 1943, in Middleton, Heysham, Lancashire. Boler started as a 16-year-old trainee at the multinational Unilever. He made his first fortune in the 1970s, selling cut-price tyre and exhaust systems together with business partner Tom Farmer, who went on to launch the Kwik Fit chain. One of the trainee managers at the time was later founder of the High Street buy-and-sell business Cash Generator, Brian Lewis, who credits Boler with a major impact on his business life. In 1980, Boler bought recession-hit Kitchen Queen, a fitted kitchen retailer from Moben Group. The company went into receivership in February 1982 and Boler quickly established a new venture; Kitchens Direct, before selling this to Kean and Scott (part of Michael Ashcroft's group; Hawley Leisure) in April 1984. By 1989, Kean and Scott had become Home Improvement Holdings, under control of Henlys Group in 1987 and Boler purchased the group in May 1989. Boler renamed the business Limelight in 1991 and took the company public in a disastrous floatation in November 1996 which saw the firms value plunge from £175 million to £40 million by March 1998, although Boler personally made £40 million through the floatation. Limelight, later known as the HomeForm Group, included household names such as Dolphin Showers, Kitchens Direct, Moben Kitchens and Sharps Bedrooms. Homeform went into administration in 2011, and had quotes honoured by brand Wren Kitchens to protect consumer confidence in UK kitchen companies. In 1983, he bought Mere Golf and Country Club in Cheshire, handing this over to his son Mark in 1994, when he was 22. Boler had separated from his wife, and his son, whom he sent to the independent school Millfield, recalls him as teaching lessons of working hard. Boler was the largest shareholder of Manchester City Football Club. In later life, he turned his attention to conservation in South Africa, creating the Tswalu Kalahari Reserve in the Kalahari Desert. He bought dozens of farms covering more than a thousand square kilometres to create the reserve. His will specified that Nicky Oppenheimer, the South African entrepreneur, should have first refusal on Tswalu, and the Oppenheimer family now owns and operates it. Boler died in Johannesburg of a heart attack in 1998, aged 55, while traveling to his game reserve. Another son, Nick, died in 2004, aged 33. Boler also had two daughters, Sarah Jane and Camilla.
The Tennessee Lottery is run by the Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation (TELC), which was created on June 11, 2003, by the Tennessee General Assembly. TELC derives its legal authority from the Tennessee Education Lottery Implementation Law, which the General Assembly passed following a November 2002 Amendment to the state constitution establishing the lottery and approved by 58 percent of the voters. The TELC is responsible for the operation of a lottery, and is deemed to be acting in all respects for the benefit of the people of Tennessee. It is a member of the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL); it participates in the Mega Millions and Powerball games. The TELC sold its first ticket on January 20, 2004. On July 28, 2007, Tennessee switched from ball drawings to those using a random number generator (RNG). However, Powerball (which moved its drawings from MUSL's Iowa headquarters to Florida in 2009) continues to be ball-drawn; likewise, Mega Millions is ball-drawn in Atlanta, with the Megaplier RNG selection conducted in Texas, as California does not have the Megaplier option. Tennessee began its third multi-jurisdictional jackpot game, Hot Lotto, on May 12, 2013; it is the game's 16th member. On that date, Hot Lotto changed its double matrix and how the jackpot will be advertised. Tennessee also has an in-state jackpot game, Tennessee Cash, which replaced Pick 5 in October 2010. People must be at least 18 years of age to purchase or redeem TELC tickets; only cash can be used to purchase lottery tickets.
Van der Graaf Generator are an English progressive rock band, formed in 1967 in Manchester by singer-songwriters Peter Hammill and Chris Judge Smith. They were the first act signed by Charisma Records. They did not experience much commercial success in the UK, but became popular in Italy during the 1970s. In 2005 the band reformed, and are still musically active with a line-up of Hammill, organist Hugh Banton and drummer Guy Evans. The band formed at the University of Manchester, but settled in London where they signed with Charisma. They went through several incarnations in their early years, including a brief split in 1969. When they reformed, they found minor commercial success with The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other (released in early 1970; their only album to chart in the UK), and after the follow-up album, H to He, Who Am the Only One (December 1970), stabilised around a line-up of Hammill, Banton, Evans and saxophonist David Jackson. The quartet subsequently achieved significant success in Italy with the release of Pawn Hearts in 1971. After several exhausting tours of Italy, the band split in 1972. They reformed in 1975, releasing Godbluff and frequently touring Italy again, before a major line-up change and a slight rename to Van der Graaf. The band split in 1978. After many years apart, the band finally reunited at a gig at the Royal Festival Hall and a short tour in 2005. Since then, the band has continued as a trio of Hammill, Banton, and Evans, who record and tour regularly in between Hammill's concurrent solo career. The group's albums have tended to be both lyrically and musically darker in atmosphere than many of their progressive rock peers (a trait they shared with King Crimson, whose guitarist Robert Fripp guested on two of their albums), and guitar solos were the exception rather than the rule, preferring to use Banton's classically influenced organ, and, until his departure, Jackson's multiple saxophones. While Hammill is the primary songwriter for the band, and members have contributed to his solo albums, the band arranges all its material collectively. Hammill's lyrics covered themes of mortality, due to his love of science fiction writers such as Robert A. Heinlein and Philip K. Dick, along with his confessed warped and obsessive nature. His voice has been a distinctive component of the band throughout its career, with Hammill himself having been described as "a male Nico" or "the Hendrix of the voice". Though the group have generally been commercially unsuccessful, they have inspired several musicians across various genres.
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
MORE →Madam C.J. Walker