Fred Wellings, former research partner at Credit Lyonnais Securities, is a well respected figure in the housing industry – partly through his Private Housebuilding Annual containing data on the corporate structure of the industry. For the current edition see www.fredwellings.co.uk

• Preface. Introduction.Part 1: The Supply Side of the Housebuilding Industry.2. Methodology, Sources and Definitions.3. The Pre-War Housebuilder.4. War and Building Controls.5 The Post-War Housing Boom 1955-1973.6. Recession and Recovery, 1973-1988.7. Recession and Recovery Again, 1829-2000.8. Market Share through the Century. A Summary.Part II: The Private Housebuilder: a Rationale of Growth and Decline.9. The Importance of the Entrepreneurial Function within the Speculative Housing Industry.10. Who Were The Builders?.11. The Rationale for Growth: The Economies That Accrue To Size.12. The Decline of the Private Housebuilder: A Chronology.13. Decline: An Overview.14. An Alternative Explanation of Growth

'The author's encyclopaedic knowledge from researching and monitoring the industry shine through, but the book also draws on company accounts and a series of in-depth interviews with firm founders and senior directors or their relatives.' Housing Studies March 2007.'Comprehensive in its scope and rigourous in its approach - an essential work or reference for any serious student of construction and housebuilding' - Building Research and Information