Estate Agency Leaders Podcast with Ian Preston

This episode features an in-depth conversation with Jamie Curtis, co-founder of Cook Curtis & Co, exploring how he built Cambridge's leading single-branch estate agency.Curtis shares his journey from stepping away from a corporate role to setting up an independent agency, highlighting how an initial investment in standout branding, high attention to detail, and distinct marketing helped the business carve out a unique market presence.The discussion covers key operational strategies, including navigating business partnership transitions, choosing single-branch dominance over multi-office expansion, and maintaining strong community connection.Additionally, Curtis highlights his forward-thinking approach to agency tech, explaining how AI, automation, and instant digital response tools are reshaping modern estate agency by streamlining out-of-hours inquiries and boosting service quality.

This episode features an in-depth conversation with Karl Judd, CEO and founder of Ashtons, exploring how a people-first culture and a measured leadership approach built the top-performing estate agency in Hertfordshire. Judd discusses his transition to CEO, sharing how strategic delegation and embedding clear company values allow the team to drive a ambitious 50% revenue growth target over the next five years.The discussion dives into the evolving role of technology and automation in real estate, detailing how eliminating repetitive, low-value tasks, such as saving 45,000 manual viewing feedback calls, enables negotiators to increase fee generation by up to 60%. Additionally, Judd shares his vision for the future of the high street, moving toward centralised operations while providing clients with round-the-clock transparency through digital tools.

This episode features an in-depth conversation with Verona Frankish, CEO of Yopa, exploring her journey from growing up as the eldest of eight children in Northern Ireland to leading a major proptech brand. Frankish shares her leadership philosophy, emphasising the fundamental importance of building trust, creating psychological safety, and fostering a culture of healthy, open debate within senior teams.The discussion covers her strategic growth plans to evolve Yopa's trajectory through to 2030, alongside the practical deployment of AI and automated solutions to streamline repetitive processes.Additionally, Frankish reflects on her work with Women in Estate Agency (WiEA), detailing new hub initiatives aimed at empowering the next generation of property leaders and challenging the industry's historical lack of diversity.

This episode features an in-depth conversation with Kevin Shaw, Group Managing Director at Leaders Romans Group, exploring his 40-year career in property and the mechanics behind scaling a 300 branch estate agency network.Shaw shares his leadership philosophy, emphasising why "the price of independence is performance," the power of a values-led meritocracy, and how to maintain a local entrepreneurial spirit within a large corporate structure.The discussion covers the strategic evolution of the industry, including LRG’s pragmatic approach to AI, navigating multi-brand competition, and their new initiative to drastically speed up transaction times and reduce fall-through rates.Additionally, Shaw reflects on the vital role of a recurring lettings portfolio in building long-term business resilience and offers practical advice for small agency owners navigating today’s volatile property market.

This episode features an in-depth conversation with Nick Thring, discussing his 40-year career trajectory and his transition from frontline estate agency work into running a multi-brand business.Thring shares insights on his strategic approach to business expansion, detailing the acquisition of competitor brand Sears and the deliberate choice to maintain a two-brand, dual-website model to increase market dominance. He outlines how a collaborative structure allows both brands to work together, securing instructions that might otherwise be lost to third-party competitors.The discussion also explores forward-looking industry shifts, highlighting the integration of Greenhouse OS technology to automate basic administrative tasks, freeing up negotiating teams to focus on revenue-generating opportunities. Furthermore, Thring breaks down the introduction of upfront flexible fees, demonstrating its substantial financial impact on business cash flow and its role as a core support pillar for onboarding self-employed agents.