A group of investors want to start up a deposit company to compete in a market worth $1.3 billion in Bermuda.

Lloyd Telford Sr., Lovette Lovell, Walton Brown Jr. of Research Innovations Ltd., and Waldo M. Ingham have applied to incorporate Renaissance Mortgage & Finance Ltd.

Mr. Telford Sr., who owns Telford Electric, said he did not want to reveal any information about the company until it was incorporated. He described himself as a "business person''.

When asked what his experience in the sector was he replied: "You find people in business who may not know the first thing about it but they hire the right people to do the job.'' He said he could not confirm the backgrounds of the other principals involved in the proposed enterprise.

"I do not know the personal lives of the other people,'' Mr. Telford said.

A Ms Lovette Lovell listed in the telephone directory could not be contacted.

The president of the Bermuda Nurses' Association is a Lovette Lovell according to The Royal Gazette records.

Mr. Brown Jr. referred all questions about the company to Mr. Telford Sr. Mr.

Brown company does research on a number of social and economic issues in the community. He is co-host of the Investors' Radio Talk Show on the ZFB 1230 radio station, and leads the Committee for Independence for Bermuda.

Mr. Ingham is not listed in the telephone directory.