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But he admits that walking back into Redrow鈥檚 Flintshire head office for the first time in eight years, after he returned via a boardroom coup last March, gave him a 鈥渂ack-to-school feeling鈥�.

It can鈥檛 have helped that certain changes had been made in his absence. 鈥淚 was laughed at by a colleague when I said I was going to the canteen for lunch,鈥� he says in his measured Scouse tone. 鈥淗e said it had closed three years ago to save money 鈥� it was just done to save thruppence ha鈥檖enny. There is nowhere for miles to buy a bloody sandwich and people were getting in their cars and going out, which is bad for morale. The first order I gave was to clean the fucking canteen up 鈥� it had been collecting cobwebs.鈥�

As Morgan breaks his silence about his first year back in charge of the 拢300m-turnover firm he calls 鈥渕y baby鈥�, it is clear that the order was the first of many.

The venue is Bonhams auctioneer on London鈥檚 Bond Street. Looking at Redrow鈥檚 freshly launched New Heritage range of 34 houses, you could be forgiven for thinking the credit crunch never happened. The design is inspired by the late 19th-century arts and crafts movement (鈥渢raditional homes built the way you remember鈥�) and it鈥檚 a far cry from the Debut range of compact living promoted by the management team he supplanted.

But he didn鈥檛 splurge more than 拢50m of his estimated 拢350m fortune to seize back control of Redrow on architectural grounds. So is the launch simply Morgan returning to what he knows best or a credible blueprint for success in post credit-crunch England? He says he hopes it is a perfectly timed combination of both.

The news that the man placed 146th on the Sunday Times Rich List was returning to Redrow sent a wave of excitement through an industry ground down by debt-for-equity swaps and breached covenants.

And he was quick to remind people of his populist touch. At his comeback performance to the City in July, many found Morgan鈥檚 bluntness a refreshing contrast to the polished, if unforthcoming, tones of some of his peers. 鈥淚t was great,鈥� says one analyst, 鈥渆very other word was a swear word.鈥�

He had an even better reception at Redrow鈥檚 HQ. 鈥淭he two receptionists, Alison and Margaret, jumped up and gave me hugs and kisses and there were tears. They probably wouldn鈥檛 know it, but it meant a lot to me,鈥� he says, as his eyes well up and soften his normally beady grey-blue gaze.

The wanderer returns

During his absence Morgan had kept busy, pursuing other property ventures and buying Wolverhampton Wanderers football club in 2007 鈥� the outgoing owner said Morgan had had 鈥渁 heart transplant from Liverpool to Wolves鈥�. And then there was that 拢100m divorce in 2000, which propelled his ex-wife Pamela onto the Rich List and ranks among the UK鈥檚 highest ever payouts. It came out of the 拢240m he made when he cashed in his Redrow shares in 2000, six years after he had floated the company.

But after an initial feeling of relief at walking away from an industry tied up in red tape, Morgan says he grew 鈥渋ncreasingly frustrated鈥� watching from the sidelines. It was over a casual chat at a drinks party during the 2008 Christmas period that he decided to act. 鈥淚 was with a pal who owns a chain of estate agents and I asked how it was going,鈥� he recalls. 鈥淗e said unbelievably all their offices over Christmas were the busiest they鈥檇 been in four years. My ears pricked up and I started watching the market intently.鈥�

By March 2009 he鈥檇 built up a 23.5% stake in Redrow. He says the firm鈥檚 management didn鈥檛 realise how large it was because of the hidden financial vehicles he used.

Meanwhile, hedge fund Toscafund had amassed a 25% stake of its own. Morgan says the two began talks in February, when he bought a 15% stake from the fund. But it was their combined might that enabled the boardroom coup, ousting Neil Fitzsimmons, the chief executive, and eventually David Arnold, the finance director in the process.

He won鈥檛 name names but is scathing in his assessment of what had gone wrong. 鈥淗e was furious,鈥� says a source close to the situation, suggesting he was upset that 鈥渁 bunch of accountants had been running his company鈥�. It is reportedly the reign of Paul Pedley, Fitzsimmons鈥� predecessor, that Morgan reserves particular ire for, blaming him for the company鈥檚 move away from traditional housing and becoming what one analyst last week called 鈥渁 laggard鈥� of the industry.

The first victim was red tape and he quickly set about remodelling the company in his own image. He says: 鈥淵ou couldn鈥檛 fart without filling in a form. The staff appraisal form was 40-something pages. I鈥檝e instructed them to get it down to four 鈥� it was like a sodding phone book and tied people up. No wonder appraisals were unpopular.鈥�

He was also reportedly horrified when he saw the accounts, although diplomacy will only allow him to say: 鈥淚 thought the writedowns [拢259m in September 2008] had put the business into a better shape, so it was disappointing we had to announce more last summer [拢319m].鈥� You sense more profanity is on the tip of his tongue, though.

Other changes included streamlining the land buying process and halving the number of board meetings to every other month. He says managers鈥� weekly reports are no longer like 鈥渁 bloody London telephone directory鈥�.

Morgan is also dismissive about how the wider industry had changed, likening much of its output to a 鈥淪talinist鈥� housing estate. He adds: 鈥淧lanning, health and safety, 黑洞社区 Regs 鈥� it never stops changing. There is always someone who wants to fiddle with things. There鈥檚 so much red tape today and what鈥檚 frightening is that the tide is still going in that direction.鈥�

The Tories don鈥檛 escape his wrath either. At the press conference to launch the new range he likened the party鈥檚 plan to scrap regional planning targets to 鈥減utting mice in charge of the cheese cupboard鈥�. He said: 鈥淚 know they say they want to put incentives in place, and that will work in some areas. But it will not work in the leafy suburbs, predominantly in the South-east, where there is the most demand. I fear that in whole swaths of the country鈥檚 development will grind to a halt.鈥�

He also took a swipe at planners for not wanting to approve homes of a more traditional style. 鈥淚f we had the land we could build 5,000 home this year. We鈥檙e still working at 50% capacity. The reason for the housing shortage is the planning system. Lots of councils are clinging on to PPG3.鈥�

The path ahead

So, rant over; what exactly is he bringing to the table? He takes us back to January 1993 and the launch of the original Heritage range. 鈥淚t included things that changed the industry. Up until then, people had avocado bathrooms and horrible flowered tiles and we brought in white bathroom suites.鈥�

And New Heritage? 鈥淲hat you鈥檒l see now is the bland PPG3-style housing disappear. You will see more family housing 鈥� people will copy us 鈥� it will be more architectural and the industry will up its game on spec.鈥� The success will only be measurable by sales in two to three years鈥� time (the range will account for just 2% of its output in the year to 30 June) but, given his force of personality and track record, most are banking on him.

The City supports the move. Tony Williams, an analyst at 黑洞社区 Value, says: 鈥淲hat Steve lacks in modernity, he makes up for with commercial nous; and he will be a force to be reckoned with. He will turn Redrow around and his timing is good.鈥�

Kevin Cammack, an analyst at Cenkos Securities, says: 鈥淚n markets where things are going up or down at speed, the difference is people like him. I鈥檇 put him in the same class as Tony Pidgley, and his understanding of housebuilding and land buying will show through when the market stabilises.鈥�

And his move into traditional family housing? Cammack says: 鈥淚f he only gets a price premium of between 0% and 5%, you could argue it hasn鈥檛 succeeded. Anything between 7% and 10% will be a success.鈥�

Alastair Stewart, analyst at Investec Securities, believes Morgan is right to move away from 鈥済hastly generic boxes鈥�. He says: 鈥淭he one product overwhelmingly in demand is family housing. It has been a complete falsehood that we can address housing needs by cramming people into substandard flats.鈥� Another advantage, he adds, is that buyers of three or four-bedroom family houses generally have the financial means to move.

Morgan himself doesn鈥檛 go into great detail about how he will measure success beyond stating that Redrow needs to 鈥渂e seen as a class act again鈥�. He says: 鈥淭here is no exit plan. The priority is to get Redrow at the top of the tree 鈥� what we were always considered to be when we used to win housebuilder of the year competitions. I wouldn鈥檛 even enter the competition at the moment.鈥�

Last week鈥檚 half-year results were a good start. With units sales of 1,266 (+21%), turnover of 拢187.2m (+25%) and net debt down from 拢269.1m to 拢49.3m, most in the City agree the Redrow recovery has begun.

Denying that he plans to take the company private any time soon, Morgan says delivering a profit is one of his top priorities, having crossed the two first hurdles of a rights issue (拢150m in September) and the New Heritage launch.

So would he have come back if he thought Redrow had not needed his help? 鈥淚鈥檓 not sure of the answer to that,鈥� he begins, falteringly. 鈥淚f the company had been doing a great job and the firm was making a good profit, there wouldn鈥檛 have been the draw.鈥� And then the proud father in him interjects and you wonder if he really meant it. 鈥� I鈥檓 very parental about this business. I gave birth to this business. It鈥檚 my baby.鈥�

Original print headline - me and my baby