Homebuilder Wren's core business is the acquisition of land and residential property development in the South-East. It contracts sites, the vast majority of which are the back garden of houses, under option agreements by approaching land owners direct. 'We're not unique in doing this but we are in a niche position,' explained chairman and chief executive Peter West. 'And I don't know of any company that does it on the scale that we do.' Wren unveiled soaring sales and profits for the year to the end of July, with sales up from £264,464 to £2.2m and pre-tax profit lifted to £402,090 (£113,845). West estimates the company has a 'land bank' worth £8m to £9m - a hefty sum compared with its £4.89m valuation. Wren floated on JP Jenkins in November through a reversal into shell venture Sardis International, a specialist sound company that ceased trading on Ofex in December 1999. It also raised £51,588 through a private placing at 14.32p per share, valuing the business at £4.25m. For 2002, Seymour Pierce analyst Leslie Kent predicts pre-tax profit of £1m and earnings of 2.3p a share, with £1.5m and 4.3p forecast for 2003. On a dirt-cheap price/earnings ratio of 7.2 for the current year, falling to just 3.8 for 2003, the shares look a snip with plenty of upside.