London housing shortage helps boost Telford Homes profits

LONDON, May 27 (Reuters) - British housebuilder Telford Homes, which builds primarily in London, said on Wednesday its full-year profit had jumped 31 percent, boosted by strong demand in areas of the capital with a "chronic shortage" of housing.

Telford posted a pre-tax profit of 25.1 million pounds ($38.70 million) for the year to the end of March, up from 19.2 million pounds in the same period last year, and slightly above market expectations.

Telford, which builds mainly in London where demand for housing has outstripped supply in recent years, built 661 homes over the period, up from 515 properties in 2014.

($1 = 0.6486 pounds) (Reporting By Costas Pitas; Editing by Neil Maidment)