Gold Traders in the Press

BBC Radio 2 - Chris Evans Drivetime

Gold Traders Featured in the Business Slot on BBC Radio 2

On 18 August 2008 - just months after Gold Traders launched - the business was featured in the business slot of Chris Evans' Drivetime show on BBC Radio 2. The feature focused on how the credit crunch was leading more people to sell their unwanted gold, and highlighted how an online buyer could offer significantly better rates than a typical high street jeweller.

The response was extraordinary. Gold Traders was inundated with enquiries in the hours that followed, phone lines stayed open well into the evening, and demand on the website was so great that it briefly crashed. It was a remarkable moment for a business that had started from a garage just months earlier.

The Guardian - Money

Guardian Money Finds Gold Traders Paid the Best Price for Gold

On 12 September 2009, the front page of Guardian Money carried an investigation by Patrick Collinson into the wave of TV and postal "cash for gold" adverts. The paper asked a number of gold buyers what they would pay for an ounce of gold.

Of all the buyers it approached, Gold Traders offered the best price - around 90% of the world gold price at the time. Jon was running the business from home under the name Phil Williams, which is the name used in the article.

Read the article: Gold: Should you rush to sell?

The Daily Telegraph

The Telegraph Picks Out Gold Traders for Quoting Prices Up Front

On 12 November 2009, Telegraph journalist Kara Gammell included Gold Traders in her guide to making extra cash online. The article noted that Gold Traders stood out from many competitors by giving sellers a quote in advance.

This early national coverage came at a time when postal gold buying was still a relatively new idea in the UK.

Read the article: How to make extra cash online

Laughing Squid, Monevator and others

Cats4Gold Parody Takes Aim at Cash for Gold Postal Buyers

In 2009, Jon launched Cats4Gold.com, a spoof website offering to swap people's gold for cats. The joke had a serious point: if you send your gold to a buyer that won't tell you its prices up front, you might as well be paid in cats.

The site was picked up online in the US, the UK and Ireland, including by Laughing Squid, the investing blog Monevator, the Museum of Hoaxes and Beaut.ie. It was relaunched in 2011 and again in 2024, and is mentioned on Wikipedia's Cash4Gold page.

Wiltshire Council and London Loves Business

Gold Traders Becomes the First Precious Metals Company in the UK to Earn Trading Standards Accreditation

This was a landmark moment - not just for Gold Traders, but for the industry as a whole. On 30 August 2022, after a thorough vetting process by Wiltshire Council Trading Standards, Gold Traders was awarded Buy With Confidence accreditation, making it the first precious metals dealer anywhere in the UK to achieve this status.

To be accredited, a business has its trading history and financial background checked and goes through a criminal records check. Its business systems are audited, and Trading Standards officers are given access to its customer records.

Councillor Ian Blair-Pilling, Wiltshire Council Cabinet Member for Public Protection, was among those quoted, praising Gold Traders for "setting a brilliant example in their industry."

The news was announced by Wiltshire Council and reported by London Loves Business.

South West Business Awards

Jon White Named Male Entrepreneur of the Year

Gold Traders founder Jon White was named Male Entrepreneur of the Year at the South West Business Awards, one of the most prestigious business recognition programmes in the region.

Jon launched Gold Traders in 2008 from his garage with a £10,000 investment, building the website himself and growing the business to a multi-million-pound operation over the following years. The award recognised both his personal entrepreneurial journey and the positive impact of the Gold Traders group on the South West economy.

Fast Growth 50 Index (South of England)

Gold Traders Named 15th Fastest-Growing Company in the South of England

Gold Traders was recognised on the 2023 Fast Growth 50 Index, which identifies the fifty fastest-growing companies across six nations and regions of the UK. The South of England list is run in partnership with UBS Global Wealth Management.

Gold Traders recorded growth of 268.3% between 2020 and 2022, placing it 15th on the South of England list. You can find it on the UK Fast Growth Index website under Regional Lists, South of England, 2023.

The companies listed together generated a combined turnover of just under £1.6 billion and created over 3,000 jobs in the prior year. Professor Dylan Jones-Evans OBE, founder of the Fast Growth 50, said the index "demonstrates that a small number of fast growth firms such as Gold Traders make a substantial contribution to the UK's economic landscape."

The Sun

Jon White Speaks to The Sun About People Selling Gold Teeth to Pay Bills

In March 2025, The Sun reported that people were selling gold teeth and other gold to help pay their bills. Jon told the paper that Gold Traders was buying around £100,000 of gold a day, and that some customers had even removed gold crowns to raise cash.

Read the article: Cash-strapped Brits are flogging their gold teeth to pay bills

Business Live, Cornish Stuff and SME Today

Gold Traders Expands into Cornwall with New Bodmin Branch

The opening of Gold Traders Bodmin was covered by several regional and national business publications. Located in the former HSBC building on Fore Street, the branch was officially opened by Councillor Mike Barbery (Deputy Mayor of Bodmin) and Councillor Andy Coppin on 2 June 2025.

Jon White said: "We are proud to bring our trusted precious metal buying service to Cornwall. Gold Traders Bodmin reflects our ongoing commitment to providing accessible, face-to-face consultations for those looking to sell their unwanted jewellery, silverware, coins and more for a fair and ethical price."

Read the coverage in Business Live, Cornish Stuff and SME Today.

The Sun

Jon White Shares His Tips in The Sun's Guide to Selling Gold

As gold hit record highs in September 2025, The Sun published a four-step guide to selling gold by Rosie Murray-West. Jon told readers that necklaces, charm bracelets and wedding bands were the items most often being sold.

He also advised that if a piece contains a diamond bigger than a third of a carat, it's worth taking it to an auction house to be valued as a whole.

Read the article: Four-step guide to selling your gold as prices hit record highs

The Sun on Sunday

Gold Traders Founder Quoted in National Investigation into Gold Buying Practices

Journalist Ben Endley carried out an undercover investigation for The Sun on Sunday, sending identical parcels of gold to a range of postal and High Street gold buyers to see what they would pay. Gold Traders helped prepare the test parcels, which Ben then sent to the buyers himself. The results were striking - some companies offered as little as 30% of the true value.

Jon White was quoted as an industry expert in the piece, noting that "companies have to make a profit, but anybody offering less than 90% of the value is giving poor value." The investigation highlighted the lack of transparency across much of the industry and the importance of consumers doing their research before selling.

Read the article: The Sun on Sunday investigation

SME Today, Business Biscuit and others

Gold Traders Becomes an Official Partner of The Royal Mint - the First and Only One in the South West

In January 2026, Gold Traders was announced as an Official Partner of The Royal Mint - the first, and currently only, precious metals dealer to hold this status in the South West of England. The appointment enables Gold Traders to buy and sell bullion bars and coins directly from The Royal Mint, including the iconic Gold Sovereign.

Jon White described it as "a pivotal moment for the business," adding that "becoming an authorised partner of The Royal Mint requires a rigorous approval and due diligence process. This is not easy to achieve and reflects the scale, professionalism, and transparency of our operation."

Read the coverage in SME Today and Business Biscuit.

Reuters

Gold Traders Founder Quoted by Reuters on the Melting of Luxury Watches

In June 2026, founder Jon White was quoted by the global news agency Reuters in a feature on how record gold prices are leading some luxury watches to be melted down for their metal. The article drew on interviews with more than a dozen traders and industry experts, and was syndicated to Reuters readers around the world.

Jon explained that the gold in a watch can sometimes be worth more than the watch itself. He gave the example of a late-1970s 18 carat Omega Constellation, brought in by a customer in May, whose gold content was worth around £5,750, more than its estimated auction value of £4,000 to £4,500.

"Beautiful watch. But in reality, had the customer consigned that to auction, what would they have achieved?" he told Reuters. The piece also noted that Jon runs an auction house (RWB Auctions), which reflects the group's ability to guide sellers towards whichever route serves them best.

We looked at this trend in more detail, including how to decide whether a gold watch is worth more melted or sold, in a related article on our blog.

Read the Reuters article: Gold fever sends some vintage luxury watches to the melting furnace

SME Today

Trading Standards Investigation Finds a £750 Gap in Gold Buyers' Offers

At Jon's request, a Wiltshire Council Trading Standards officer took a verified quantity of gold, worth more than £2,200, to four different types of gold buyer on 26 June 2026. He recorded the first offer each one made.

The offers ranged from £1,122.57 from a mobile buyer in a car park to £1,880.00 from a High Street pawnbroker - a gap of more than £750 for the same gold. Not one buyer stated their price per gram before making an offer.

The findings were reported by SME Today. You can see the full results on our blog.

Hampshire Chronicle, Farnham Herald and others

Damian Hinds MP Raises Gold Buyer Price Transparency in Parliament

After meeting Jon at M J Hughes Coins in Alton, Damian Hinds, MP for East Hampshire, tabled a written parliamentary question. He asked what assessment the Government had made of requiring gold buyers to clearly display the price they pay per gram.

The meeting and the question were reported by the Hampshire Chronicle on 14 August 2026, and by the Farnham Herald and its sister papers.

Gazette and Herald, Swindon Advertiser and others

MP Backs Jon White's Call for Tougher Regulation of Gold Buyers

On 6 October 2026, founder Jon White met Sarah Gibson, MP for Chippenham, to make the case for regulating the UK's gold buying market. Right now, gold buyers don't need a licence, can pay in cash and don't have to show their price per gram before a deal.

Sarah backed the campaign and pledged to apply for a Westminster Hall debate, where a government minister must respond. "Responsible dealers should have nothing to fear from higher standards, and I am pleased to support Jon's campaign," she said.

The Gazette and Herald reported the story on 10 October 2026 under the headline MP backs calls for tougher regulation of gold buyers. The article set out the campaign's key proposals, including showing the price per gram before any deal, written offers and ID checks.

The story was also covered by the Swindon Advertiser, SME Today and Business Biscuit.

You can read more about the meeting, and the five rules we're calling for, in our news article.