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 property flips, why he’s a self-confessed “control freak in the best way”, the thousand emails a day he reads (yes, including the info@ inbox), and what he thinks is coming for the market in 2026. Plus: sales vs lettings, travelling the world, AI in property, and a few predictions that might surprise you.

A fast, funny, high-energy episode. Don’t miss it.

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 driver of profitability, not an overhead.

Today, he oversees a seven-strong marketing team, supporting London, country, and an international footprint with the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea forming the crown jewel of their market. Average sale price? £1.5m. In other words: serious prime.

What we cover in this episode:

• Why effectiveness is Chris’s mantra and the metric every marketing team should be judged by

• His career path: agencies, pizza, clothing… and now prime London property

• How to actually understand your customer and build campaigns that resonate

• Working agency-side across M&S, Disney, Santander and Travelodge all speaking the same marketing language

• The brands under the John D Wood umbrella and how he differentiates their personalities

• Why agents can run their own social channels… but the brand itself must stay curated

• How JDW use AI in marketing execution, visuals and copy, and why in some cases it replaces the need for a creative agency

• The brutal truth: 50% of applicants come from Rightmove

• The bigger truth: ChatGPT will become a key property search tool

• The biggest truth: 26 December is the most pointless day to “launch your sale”….Santa isn’t the biggest lie at Christmas… the Boxing Day Rightmove rush is.

• 2026 predictions: a split market, challenges at the top end, huge opportunity for those who get the basics right because “it’s an agent’s market”.

And we also learn why Chris believes JDW owe him £100k for his Jeeves & Wooster idea. (We’ll let him explain that one…)

A brilliant brand. A brilliant conversation. Another one in the can by The Two Russells

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 pulls you in:

• Born in Denmark

• Couldn’t read or write until he was 10

• Moved constantly as a kid (doctor dad = resilience on tap)

• Michigan exchange year that shaped his outlook on diversity

• MBA at London Business School

• A career spanning travel, public and private companies, private equity, and industries you wouldn’t expect

• And a behind-the-scenes look at how Compare the Meerkat actually came to be

He calls himself the Chief Unblocking Officer, keeps a ‘did I make a difference?’ diary at 5.20pm every day, and approaches AI with curiosity rather than fear.

The Two Russells tried their best to get him to spill the beans on Moneypenny’s future exit plans…

Jesper smiled.

And held his line.

Beautifully.

This is a warm, surprising, generous conversation with a leader who genuinely makes people better.

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

• Deloitte. DIY flips. A paper round at 10 (illegally)

• Keller Williams (ouch). TAUK dreams

• 250 agents and counting. With 1,000 firmly in sight He calls it evolution, not change

We call it a journey worth watching

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 the story of Gareth Samples —

the man who failed school, failed college, and decided that failure wasn’t for him.

He’s been a negotiator, a manager, a managing director, a “retired” restaurant investor…

And now the guy driving one of the biggest PLCs in the business.

In this episode, Gareth joins Russell Quirk and Russell Jervis to talk:

•⁠ ⁠How he turned failure into fuel

•⁠ ⁠Why recruiting great people is his superpower

•⁠ ⁠What the corporate world gets wrong about culture

•⁠ ⁠The egos, red flags and realities behind today’s industry

And why, at 50, he decided he had one big job left in him.

From £1,500 basic to £1 billion turnover — powered by old-school graft.

Proof that success isn’t luck.

It’s earned.

⚠️ 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 branch in Selly Oak before being abruptly let go by email on a Sunday night. That setback didn’t stop her, instead, she built a business from the ground up, powered by personality, organisation, and especially Instagram. With 12k followers and 85% of her leads coming from social media, her face is now her brand. She’s so in demand that she sometimes pauses new instructions — with clients waiting until she’s ready to sell their home.

But behind the success is resilience shaped by a turbulent childhood. Growing up in a council house, losing her dad to suicide, helping raise her younger brother, and navigating her mum’s struggles with alcohol. Sam’s story is one of grit, responsibility, and determination well beyond her years. Today, she leads a team of five (all close friends), balances work and family, and proves that authenticity and hard work can break every barrier.

This is an open, honest, and inspiring conversation with one of the most impressive women in UK estate agency.

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 together.

Since then, they’ve built something special. From Neil leaving the police to focus on lettings, to Matt grafting 13 days straight on door knocks, their paths merged in 2014. Today, they run a £1m turnover agency with 13 staff, managing sales, lettings, and HMOs all while raising families and staying true to their roots.

This is a story of resilience, ambition, and a partnership built on trust. With a brand that’s growing in a unique way, their mum as their biggest fan, and their sights set on the future, Matt and Neil show what happens when brothers back each other all the way.

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- and 8-figure businesses.

He’s now the author of three best-selling books, an international keynote speaker on AI, marketing, and Big Data, and the creator of Iceberg Digital’s AI operating system for estate agents that’s changing the industry.

This conversation is raw, dynamic, and inspiring. A story of resilience, reinvention, and always staying one step ahead.