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TWST: Can we start with an introduction to Telford Homes, including a brief historical sketch?

Mr. Di-Stefano: To get the appropriate sense of history, you have to go back prior to Telford Homes days. The Furlong family have been involved in construction since the 1970s, eventually evolving into a company called Furlong Homes. Furlong Homes listed on the AIM (Alternative Investment Market) in the 1990s, and its principals were the Chairman, Jim Furlong, and the Chief Executive and Finance Director, Andrew Wiseman. Together, they grew that company over a number of years before selling it to the Gladedale Group in 2000. As a result, both Jim and Andrew left the company in late 2000 and helped set up Telford Holmes PLC. So, although the company itself is relatively new, it has a long and respected reputation through its association with Jim, Andrew, and a number of other principals in our company. Telford Homes was established in December 2000 and had an initial listing on the AIM market in December 2001, with a further placing in July 2002. Since the IPO, there has been phenomenal growth over a short period of time. We started with a handful of employees and a small number of sites; now we are a company that for the year ended 31 March 2004 has a broker forecast for £42 million turnover and £6.3 million profit before tax. In total, we now have about 20 sites and we are currently constructing on at least 10 of them. We have grown into a substantial urban developer in just 3 years.

TWST: Which urban areas do you focus on and what is the core product?

Mr. Di-Stefano: East London is our main area of focus. We have got a lot of experience and knowledge in that area and our reputation is excellent there. East London is a cheaper part of London in terms of property values and it's an area where a lot of regeneration needs to done. At the moment the UK is suffering from a housing shortage. In East London in particular, there is a predominance of old housing blocks that really need to be demolished and replaced by a mix of private and social housing, which will both uplift the area and provide housing to meet the growing demand. Telford Homes builds predominantly 1 and 2 bedroom apartments. The size of our developments varies from 14 flats to 201 flats with Abbotts Wharf on the Limehouse Cut, currently our largest development. On most of our sites we provide social housing, which is a very important part of our business. On sites of 14 units or under, you usually don't have to provide any social housing at all. But on sites of more than 14 units, typically 25% will be social or ‘affordable’ units although, that percentage can be higher, and in fact is higher on some of our sites.

TWST: So there are some good drivers in public sector housing at the moment?

Mr. Di-Stefano: Yes, very much so. One of our major strengths at the moment is our relationship with housing association partners. To put this in perspective an important part of our business is being able to acquire the right pieces of land. That comes partly from Jim and Andrew's experience in the area, but also from relationships with the people who own the land. Often you find that it's owned by housing groups, and we therefore build relationships with them so that we are part of the thought process when land is ready for development. Our relationships with all of our housing association partners are vital and in the future it will probably prove to be an even more important part of the business.

TWST: How much of a challenge is the planning environment in London?

Mr. Di-Stefano: It's a huge challenge for everyone. It is probably one of the most difficult thing that we have to deal with on any site. Again, relationships are important and we do pride ourselves on our relationships with the planning departments. An ongoing dialogue with individual planning offices and with a particular council is very important. We build mainly in Tower Hamlets and Hackney, which are London boroughs, and having built previous developments in those areas, you build up a relationship with those planning authorities because they know what you're capable of. With that said, the planning environment as a whole regardless of relationships, is very tough. It is not the right environment either, because there is a shortage of housing and a genuine need to provide more. It should be a lot more flexible than it is. The government is trying to change this environment in the UK, but the truth is that it is not yet happening. Some of our more successful developments are the ones where we have bought the land without the planning consent and then created value by getting the consent. That is one part of our advantage. Because of our experience and our existing relationships we know what kind of consent we are likely to get on a given site, and therefore we approach it from the right angle.