The Viking Chats: navigating the choppy waters of property, technology and business

What if the biggest problem facing estate agency isn't regulation, technology or even the market itself? What if it's people? Not because we don't have enough of them, but because we're still asking the wrong questions when we recruit them, develop them and lead them. In this episode of The Viking Chats , I'm joined by two of the industry's most respected trainers and...

What does great leadership actually look like? Is it having all the answers? Being the loudest voice in the room? Always appearing confident? Or is it something much simpler- and much harder- than that? In this episode of The Viking Chats , I'm joined by Verona Frankish , CEO of Yopa and Chair of Women in Estate Agency (WIEA), for a conversation that starts with career progression but quickly...

There’s a fascinating shift happening across the property industry right now. On the surface, most of the conversation appears to revolve around legislation. The Renter’s Rights Act. Tribunal reform. EPC targets. Compliance changes. Data transparency. AI. New expectations from consumers. But underneath all of that sits something much bigger: Trust. Who has the information. Who controls the process...

There are some conversations that end up becoming far more personal, reflective and emotionally honest than either person expected when the microphones first switched on. This was one of those conversations. In this episode of The Viking Chats , I sit down with Heather Foster of Relocation Agent Network for what begins as a chat about career, agency and the evolution of the industry, before unfold...

When Sarka Wilde first joined me on The Viking Chats , the focus was very different. She was preparing to take on Aconcagua, the highest mountain outside of Asia, raising money for the Propertymark Trust through what would become one of the most physically and mentally demanding challenges of her life. The training was relentless, the commitment extraordinary and the purpose behind it deeply perso...

There’s a moment in this conversation with Rajeev Nayyar where the discussion stops being about the Renter’s Rights Act and starts becoming something much bigger. Because beneath all the headlines around tribunals, rent reviews and compliance sits a more fundamental shift that I don’t think the industry - or government, for that matter - has fully grasped yet. For years, the private rented sector...

🎙 We Don’t Have a Tech Problem – We Have a Thinking Problem There’s a lot of noise in the property industry when it comes to “PropTech”. New platforms, new tools, new promises about transformation… and yet, if we’re honest, much of the underlying experience for agents, landlords and consumers hasn’t changed nearly as much as it probably should have by now. So where’s the disconnect? In this episod...

This week on The Viking Chats , I’m joined by Simon Bones , founder of Genous - a retrofit specialist on a mission to bring clarity, logic and (frankly) some much-needed honesty to the world of energy efficiency. Because let’s be honest… right now? Most landlords and agents are guessing . MEES is coming. EPC targets keep shifting. Government messaging is inconsistent at best. And if you try to get...

This episode of The Viking Chats is a little different. It’s part of Podcasthon  - a global movement bringing podcasts together from across the world to shine a spotlight on charities and the incredible work they do. And for this special episode, I’m joined by Megan Eighteen , President of ARLA Propertymark and trustee of what might just be the property industry’s best-kept secret: The Propertymar...

This week on The Viking Chats , I’m joined by someone who has quite literally grown alongside the modern private rented sector -  Theresa Wallace , Compliance Director at Savills and Chair of The Lettings Industry Council (TLIC). Releasing in the week of International Women’s Day and on the eve of annual WIEA event, this episode couldn’t be more timely. Theresa’s journey begins not in a corporate...

This week on The Viking Chats , I’m joined by Phil Farrell of Offr  - former agent, industry operator, and now one of the most thoughtful voices in the PropTech space. And this isn’t a fluffy “tech will save the world” conversation. It’s a frank, honest and occasionally uncomfortable deep dive into where estate agents truly add value… and where we absolutely don’t. Phil spent over two decades in a...

What happens when you mix two award-winning agents, a shared love of doing things differently, and the guts to leave the corporate world behind to launch something with your name on the door? You get Liana and Ollie Loporto-Browne  - and one of the most refreshingly honest episodes of Viking Chats to date. In this candid and laugh-filled conversation, Kristjan sits down with Liana and Ollie to unp...

This week’s Viking Chat  is full of big energy, blunt truths, and a big dose of Northern charm - because joining Kristjan is none other than David Mintz . If you’re in agency and haven’t come across David yet, you’re in for a treat. Co-host of the brilliantly unpredictable Kerfuffle Podcast , long-standing estate and letting agent, and self-confessed industry “agent provocateur,” David brings char...

What happens when a psychology student-turned-estate agent walks into the fast-evolving world of proptech? You get Stella Nicol- former Reeds Rains branch manager, Barrett New Homes sales manager, Spectre pioneer, and now one of the longest-standing team members at Street Group. In this episode of The Viking Chats , Kristjan catches up with Stella for an honest, often hilarious, and always insight...

🎙 The Viking Chats – From Silicon Valley to Street Smarts: Neal Bawa on Data, Development & Doing It Differently This week on The Viking Chats , we go global - quite literally - as Neal Bawa , one of America’s most well-known (and polarising) data-driven real estate investors, joins Kristjan for a cross-Atlantic conversation packed with eyebrow-raising stats, uncomfortable truths, and big less...

In this episode of The Viking Chats , Kristjan Byfield sits down with Costas Frangeskou , Director of Growth at Goodlord , to explore a career that’s taken him from one of the UK’s most recognisable portals to the heart of lettings technology - and the insights he’s gained along the way. From early agency days through to his tenure at Rightmove , and now shaping the future of digital lettings at G...

In this episode of The Viking Chats , Kristjan Byfield is joined by Annalese Walmsley , Sales Director at Kotini , to explore one of the most overlooked parts of the property journey: onboarding . While much of the UK’s PropTech conversation focuses on portals, valuations and back-office automation, onboarding - that crucial first stage where ID checks, AML, forms, PIQs and more collide - is often...

In this episode of The Viking Chats , Kristjan sits down with Graham Paterson , co-founder of the AI-powered portal Jitty , to explore how one of the property industry’s most fundamental tools - the search portal - is being reimagined from the ground up. Graham was part of the leadership team at Deliveroo , helping shape the food delivery brand’s expansion and operational excellence. Now, he’s tur...

In this episode of The Viking Chats , Kristjan Byfield sits down with the bold, brilliant and unmistakably real Angi Cooney  - property industry veteran, cultural architect, former MD of C Residential, and a woman unafraid to speak her truth. From building a beloved local agency brand from scratch to leading with compassion in a sector too often ruled by numbers, Angi has always done things differ...

In this inspiring and refreshingly candid episode of The Viking Chats , Kristjan Byfield is joined by Matt Giggs  - founder of The Giggs Group, industry coach, and one of the UK property sector’s most passionate advocates for purpose-driven business. Matt’s journey from high-street negotiator to regional director to founding his own multi-branch agency group is not your typical “scale fast, sell h...

In this vital and wide-ranging episode of The Viking Chats , Kristjan sits down with Nicola Thivessen , Chairperson on the Zoopla Lettings Advisory Board and one of the UK’s most respected voices on lettings regulation, compliance, and raising standards across the private rented sector (PRS). With a career that spans frontline agency with some of the UK's biggest brands, Nicola brings a uniqu...

In this game-changing episode of The Viking Chats , Kristjan Byfield sits down with Rebecca Nixon  - PropTech growth specialist, strategic marketer, and host of The PropTech Growth Podcast  - for a refreshingly honest conversation about what marketing really is, and what letting agents are getting wrong. With years of experience helping PropTech founders, suppliers and property businesses align gr...

In this powerful episode of The Viking Chat , Kristjan Byfield sits down with Carrie Alliston , Head of Partnerships at HomeLet and one of the UK property industry’s most respected voices on compliance, leadership and transformation. After decades of experience in agency - most recently as Group Lettings Director at Hunters - Carrie brings both operational depth and big-picture strategy to every c...

In this powerhouse episode of The Viking Chat , Kristjan Byfield sits down with one of the UK property sector’s most authentic and disruptive voices -  Simon Gates , co-founder of Opening The Gates and a man who has made it his mission to rewire how estate and letting agents think, speak and serve. This isn’t just another industry chat. It’s an unfiltered, high-energy deep dive into what’s broken,...

In this compelling episode of The Viking Chat , Kristjan Byfield sits down with Elaine Penhaul , founder of Lemon & Lime Interiors and author of Sell High, Sell Fast , for a conversation that bridges the gap between data, design, and delivery in the UK property sector. Elaine is a leading voice in home staging, but her message isn’t about soft furnishings and fluff. It’s about strategy - the m...