British real estate developers Teford Homes and St. Modwen said the residential property market in London and the south east of England remained robust and would underpin their growth in 2012.

Telford Homes, the London-focused residential property developer on Wednesday said its pretax profit for the year to the end of March rose 20 percent, helped by its growth in the UK capital.

'The fundamentals of the London housing market remain robust and our forward sales position includes over 65 percent of the open market homes expected to complete in the year to March 31, 2013,' said Telford Homes chief executive Jon Di-Stefano, who expects to see a 'substantial increase in profit before tax in the new financial year'.

St. Modwen, whose projects include the Elephant & Castle Shopping Centre in London and Discovery Court Business Centre in Poole, said recent trade had been strong and that it expected 2012 profit to be ahead of last year.

'Our strategic focus on the residential sector is underpinning our forward momentum, particularly in London and the south east,' St Modwen's chief executive Bill Oliver said.

Developers say the buoyant conditions in London's property market are not being felt outside the capital, where conditions remain challenging, largely due to tight mortgage financing.

Shares in Telford Homes and St Modwen have risen 43 and 48 percent in 2012, respectively.-Reuters