Going Self-Employed in 2026: Lessons from One of Prime Central London's Top Brokers
In this episode, I sit down with Oliver Ingles of DDRE Global, a broker I genuinely rate for one simple reason. He doesn't BS. No walking around big houses pretending he isn't selling them, no show without substance. Just a proper operator who made the leap to self-employed brokerage three and a half years ago and hasn't looked back.
If 2026 is the year you're thinking of going self-employed, this is the conversation to listen to.
What we coverOliver opens up about why going self-employed was the best decision he ever made, and why the industry is only heading in one direction. We get into the reality of leaving the 8:30 to 6 desk life behind, why sitting in an office will make you fade away, and how the agents winning now are the ones closest to the customer.
We talk about burning the boats. There's never a right time, much like having kids, and Oliver is clear that waiting until you've saved a bit more or finished the extension is just another excuse. His biggest regret is not doing it sooner.
Oliver shares his approach to bringing every single person he meets into his ecosystem, from monthly newsletters to weekly check ins, and why every buyer viewing should end with a coffee. We discuss how to position yourself as a trusted real estate advisor rather than just another agent quoting price per square foot, and why you need to understand FX markets, geopolitics, tax structures and legislation to genuinely serve high net worth clients.
There's a brilliant story about hiring a red open top bus to take 60 wealth managers and private offices from London down to Richmond to view a 20 million pound home, and why doing things differently gets you remembered.
We dig into consistency as the cheat code, the militant approach to outreach, meeting five to ten new people a day, and why Oliver views every buyer as someone he can potentially retain. He also shares why buying agency is the biggest missed opportunity in UK real estate right now.