LONDON (Alliance News) - London-focused residential property developer Telford Homes PLC on Thursday said it has continued to see strong demand from tenants and buyers in the first quarter of its current financial year.
In a statement due to be given at its annual general meeting, Chief Executive Jon Di-Stefano said it has secured 218 open market sales since the start of April and said the total value of all its forward sales secured and due for completion in the financial year to the end of March 2016 is now over GBP620 million, substantially above the GBP173.5 million in revenue the company posted for its 2015 financial year.
Di-Stefano said Telford sees the demand for homes in London remaining strong, given current population trends, the strength of the London economy, and the long-term constraints on the supply of new homes. "It is this underlying imbalance between demand and supply that supports the group's plans to increase output over the next few years," he adds.
Di-Stefano added the company welcomed the measures outlined by the UK government recently to reform the planning process in the UK, particularly the devolution of more power to the Mayor of London and the speeding up the planning process for brownfield, or previously used, land.
He said Telford is continuing to explore opportunities to boost its development pipeline and is in talks for a number of prospective sites. He said the company is keen to continue to lengthen its pipeline, which already stretches to 2019, and said it is focusing on developing in attractive but relatively affordable locations at a time when there are not enough new homes being built in London.
"Given this dynamic and the consistently high demand for our product, the board remains confident of delivering on expectations for the year to March 31, 2016 and in laying the foundations for sustained long-term growth," Di-Stefano added.
Shares in Telford were up 2.6% to 426.96 pence on Thursday morning.
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
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