Telford Homes Regulatory News (TEF)

9 Jul 2009 13:36



Telford Homes Plc

("Telford Homes" or the "Group")

AGM Statement

Telford Homes plc (AIM:TEF), the residential property developer in East London noted for regeneration projects within public sector partnerships, announces that, at the Annual General Meeting and the subsequent General Meeting held earlier today, all resolutions put to shareholders were duly passed.

Andrew Wiseman, Chief Executive, gave the following statement:

"The Board has been encouraged by increasing levels of interest from prospective buyers in the past few weeks and is pleased to report that this is being converted into sales of finished homes.  At Queen Mary's Gate in South Woodford five properties have been sold since our preliminary results were announced on 27 May 2009 and a further three have been sold at Nayland Court, Romford.  In addition, 14 properties that were previously sold and where Telford Homes has rescinded contracts with the original buyer have been sold to new purchasers.  These new sales have been predominantly for owner occupation.

"Overall, completions remain in line with the Board's expectations.  In total since 1 April 2009 over 110 open market homes have been completed and handed over to customers.  Although a number of pre-sold properties will fail to complete, the Group has been successful in achieving re-sales to date.  In addition, the acquisition announced on 23 June 2009 has given Telford Homes access to £6.3 million of capital to finance unsold properties at 75 per cent loan to value.

"Telford Homes' delivery of affordable housing, supported by the Homes and Communities Agency, remains on track and to date the Group has received £8.4 million of its £57 million agreed grant programme."

"The Board maintains its cautiously optimistic outlook and confirms that Telford Homes is trading in line with market expectations for the current financial year."

- Ends -

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Notes to Editors

Telford Homes is an established house builder focusing on the regeneration of brownfield sites in the East and North London area. The Group's strong public sector partnerships afford it a certain level of security of sales before commencing development. Whilst the majority of every scheme is residential, often some commercial units are required as a condition of the planning consent, which may be used for office space, retail units, or community facilities.

The Group's successful record of selling properties at an early stage in the development allows greater visibility.  Telford Homes also has an excellent track record of working with housing associations and has forged many strong relationships, and typically part of every development is sold for affordable housing. The Group's affiliations with housing associations in the area have meant that during this downturn in the open housing market the Group is able to focus more intently on 100% affordable housing schemes, as well as transferring a greater proportion of current developments into affordable housing.

Telford Homes has secured funding of £57 million from the Homes and Communities Agency ("HCA") across four of Telford's own sites and three estate regeneration partnership projects with Eastend Homes. This funding enables the Group to develop affordable housing sites with security of sales already in place.

The Greater London Authority is predicting an increase of 800,000 in London's population over the next ten years, and forecasts that the city will need 30,000 new homes per year throughout this period. This huge pressure on the supply of new homes creates significant demand for Telford Homes' services in this region.

For further information, please see www.telfordhomes.plc.uk