The Two Russells

What happens when you've built an incredible career, worked on some of the world's most iconic property developments and achieved everything you thought you wanted… but something still feels missing? This week, The Two Russells welcome Caroline Donaghue, who spent 23 years in international luxury property marketing, helping to launch landmark developments including The Shard, Atlantis The Royal in...

Peter Rollings - ‘The Legend’ From gutting 200 trout at Chelsea Farmers Market and delivering them to restaurants on a moped, to becoming one of the first 21 employees at Foxtons - and ultimately its MD - Peter Rollings has quite a story to tell. Peter joins the Two Russells to look back at the extraordinary early days of Foxtons: 9am–9pm working, 0% commission, relentless hiring, Friday night mee...

Pour a glass of wine. Make a coffee. Get comfortable. The Two Russells are back. Episode 60 sees Russell and Russell joined by Anthony Payne , Managing Director of LonRes , for a brilliant conversation about property, people and the rather unconventional route that took Anthony to the heart of the prime Central London market. He left school at 16. He wanted a job at Cecil Gee because he fancied th...

Episode 59 with Hayley Andrews, Hard Hats to Heels Hayley Andrews has never done things the conventional way. From selling duty-free cigarettes as a child and collecting qualifications in everything from football coaching to beauty therapy, to becoming one of the UK’s most respected property entrepreneurs, her journey is anything but ordinary. In this episode, Hayley shares how years of battling a...

What does it take to become one of the UK’s leading communication and motivational speakers for estate agency when you’ve never actually worked as an estate agent? In Episode 58 of The Two Russells Podcast, Russell Quirk and Russell Jervis are joined by Tony Morris, founder of Agency Titans and Tony Morris International, for an inspiring and thought-provoking conversation about mindset, communicat...

At 12 years old, Felix Bravo watched his family’s world change overnight. The cars were sold. The house was downsized. Holidays disappeared. Christmas presents were bought with borrowed money. Fast forward to today and, before turning 30, Felix has built businesses, experienced failure, supported his family through difficult times and become Managing Director of eXp International. In this episode,...

The Two Russells, recorded live at the Property Investor Show, ExCeL London. Russell Quirk and Russell Jervis are joined by John Howard, a property investor with hundreds of millions of pounds in past deals. They cover: What success actually looks like Then vs now.. how deals have changed The maths behind his investments Trust, family, and bringing his daughter into the business What drives him Fr...

The Two Russells lands with one of the most recognisable characters in the industry Simon Whale of Kerfuffle. Expect energy, honesty, and a fair bit of chaos. Simon’s journey is anything but conventional. From nine years at university (yes, really) and launching Indulgence Plc organising student trips across Europe… to being handed a job by his dad, then promptly getting sacked by him. Fourteen ye...

EPISODE 53 – Silvia Eldawi Founder of Propologi The Queen of Property Podcasts joins R&R for a candid, compelling and refreshingly honest conversation. Silvia opens up on: •⁠ ⁠Sacrificing family life for career success •⁠ ⁠Whether women are forced to choose between ambition and motherhood •⁠ ⁠Being fired from her own PropTech startup •⁠ ⁠Why “no one is coming to save you” •⁠ ⁠Dubai’s property...

When it comes to getting the best guests first, the Russells are the epitome of ‘It’s who you know…’ in grabbing big names. Not many (actually none) though, can boast a current The Apprentice star who happens to also be an estate agent. Kieran McCartney Jones. What is filling with Lord Sugar really like? Has Kieran been unfairly targeted in the media for his ‘sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll’ past? Or...

Buying a £5 book online is seamless. Buying a home, one of life’s biggest decisions, often feels chaotic, slow and stacked against the buyer. In Episode 52 of The Two Russells Podcast , Russell Quirk and Russell Jervis are joined by Graham Patterson , Co-Founder of Jitty, the AI-driven property platform aiming to rebuild the homebuying experience from the ground up. After careers designing intuiti...

From Ceefax Leads… to Instagram Introductions Over half a century of podcast studio sessions for Russell and Russell… and the guests keep delivering. This week, Russell Quirk and Russell Jervis are joined by Steve Eakins, Key Partner Director at Lumon, the currency specialist trusted by agents, buyers and investors navigating international property transactions. Often saved in phones as “Steve Cur...

⚠️ Trigger Warning: This episode discusses sexual abuse, coercive control and suicide attempts. For our landmark 50th episode of The Two Russells, we revisit one of the most courageous and unforgettable stories ever shared on the podcast. Annalese Walmsley returns. In Episode 27, she revealed that she had been sexually abused by her father for nine years — and the extraordinary consequences of bre...

After a relentlessly busy January at Proper PR and Rayner Personnel, we’re back with a powerful international perspective on property and one of our most compelling guests yet. Joining us from Ireland (via Teams) is Regina Mangan, founder of Liberty Blue. In this episode, Regina opens up about: • Why Ireland has no property chains and how that changes everything • A red-hot seller’s market with 57...

We are joined by the force of nature that is Marc von Grundherr, Director of Benham & Reeves. From a business that began in the 1960s with two feuding brothers in neighbouring offices… to a global network spanning London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai, Qatar, South Africa, Israel and beyond. Marc gives us the real story behind one of the industry’s most enduring brands. We get into his early pro...

This week we’re joined by Chris Kelly, Head of Marketing at John D Wood & Co., the man who went from marketing Pizza Express’s American Hot… to shaping one of London’s most respected prime property brands. If that doesn’t qualify as range, nothing does. Chris has spent three years in post, brought in to boost brand awareness, grow the business, and put marketing back where it belongs: as a dri...

This week we’re joined by someone who makes leadership look effortless (even though his path was anything but). Jesper With-Fogstrup, CEO of Moneypenny, leads a business serving 16,000 clients across the UK and US, with £75m in revenue and a culture so strong you genuinely have to see it to believe it… beehives, pub, subsidised lunches, sky-high retention… the lot. But it’s Jesper’s story that pul...

Episode 45 of The Two Russells with Chris Buckler, Chief Commercial Officer at TAUK The man redefining what it means to run an estate agency while still letting agents sell From a dodgy paper round to leading one of the UK’s fastest-growing networks Sounds simple… until you hear what happened in between • Sales techniques from Switzerland to Solihull. And a few ice scrapers along the way • Deloitt...

It took him seven interviews to land a trainee job. He started on £1,500 basic and £35 a deal commission per property, armed with nothing more than a script and a bit of attitude. He worked 8am to 8pm, seven days a week and loved every second of it. Fast forward a few decades and he’s now CEO of The Property Franchise Group, overseeing more than 2,000 offices and a £400 million market cap. This is...

⚠️ Trigger warning: Suicide In this episode, The Two Russells are joined by Sam Cerrone of Cerrone Estates one of EXP’s top performers, part of its elite icon group, and a true million-pound agent, having billed over £1m in fees in just five years. Sam’s journey is far from ordinary. She started out as a hairdresser, then rose through the ranks in estate agency, running the largest Countrywide bra...

Two brothers. One incredible journey. Matt and Neil’s story starts in Chelmsford with junior neg jobs, diverted phones at funfairs, and even setting up what they believe was the UK’s first online estate agency back in 2002. Life wasn’t easy...their parents divorced, they lost their dad young, and at times the brothers fell out completely. But grief, graft, and a pub fight (!) brought them back tog...

We’re kicking off Season 3 of The Two Russells with none other than Mark Burgess, founder of Iceberg Digital a man who’s lived ten lives before most of us have had breakfast. Mark went from growing up in some of the toughest parts of East London, caught up in gangs and battling addiction from 13 to 18, to buying properties with no money, leading in estate agency sales, and ultimately building 7- a...

From a social media post to the Two Russells' big chair. We spotted a Facebook post that Kim McGinley published back in April that talked candidly of her anxiety at addressing a big crowd at an event Kim spoke at. 'This', we thought, 'is worth exploring'. Roll forward to June and our diaries aligned and we had the pleasure of speaking to Kim in our London studios to talk about 'that panic attack'...

What’s it like to be the first female house builder MD? And why would that person choose to then go an work in Azerbaijan? As ever, the Two Russells prove these questions and more, of this week’s podcast guest, Sarah Pasco. The house building sector has become significantly more balanced in recent years in respect of senior women in the sector. As leaders, as board members etc. Sarah discusses how...

“Estate agency marketing is sh*t. Discuss” This is one of the questions that the Two Russells put to Marketing Empress Kirsty Franks See how she responds by listening to the latest Two R’s podcast. And if you’re inspired by stories of strength through adversity, it doesn’t get more emotional and challenging than what happened on the night of Kirsty’s engagement party…