Housing group reports 10% increase in profit in ’extremely encouraging’ market

Regeneration specialist Telford Homes has reported a 10% increase in pre-tax profit to £8.1m for the year ended March 31 2010.

The group said sales since September had been “extremely encouraging”. It has raised £7.2m on the stock market to deliver more developments in an “undersupplied market”.

Chief executive officer Andrew Wiseman said: “The East London property market has improved in the last six months and remains stable.”

“The rate of new sales since September last year, both to owner occupiers in the UK and to overseas buyers, has been extremely encouraging.”

Wiseman admitted that 25% of sales in the open market in 2006 and 2007 were not completed by the original buyer. The group re-sold the majority of these properties to individual owner occupiers.

The group saw revenue increase to £159.3m, up from £106.7m the previous year and net assets rose 25% to £63.1m.

Net debt was reduced to £37.2m from £107.2m last year. The group added that the number of open market completions increased to 389 from 350 in the year.