From tense negotiations over price to delays in paperwork, buying and selling a property can result in numerous problems arising – this is no less the case with super-prime property. The advice of a property broker is invaluable during this often-complicated process, connecting HNW clients with trustworthy buyers.
Overseeing the entire process of a transaction, property brokers ensure that the selling of a home is as smooth as possible, all while ensuring all legal and contractual obligations are met. From leveraging their enviable networks to secure off-market buyers to being the chief negotiators between buyers and sellers, they offer a more personalised, discreet service than the standard estate agent.
[See also: London home sales worth £5 million]
Amid stories of an UHNW exodus from the UK following changes to non-dom status, those in the real estate industry have had to adapt to changes in buyers’ and sellers’ interests – this is felt most by property brokers whose clients are now more timid than ever.
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‘In a market like this, you’ve got to have patience,’ says co-head of Savills Private Office, Alex Christian. ‘You can’t just expect a quick fix. You’ve got to be very tactical in how you approach the market at the upper end.’
Explore the other rankings within the 2026 Spear’s Property Indices:
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Our 2026 research reveals that one of the biggest changes in the super-prime property market since the UK governments 2025 Autumn Budget is that buyers appear to be less nervous about asking for a discount. Top Flight broker Gary Hersham, founder of Beauchamp Estates, says: ‘I don’t have a crystal ball, but nowadays people are less afraid to make a substantially lower offer, while in the past they were scared.’
When asked about their outlook for the next 12 months, several property brokers have told Spear’s that they are tentatively positive. ‘The activity feels stronger this year than last, I’m seeing the pipeline grow and get busier,’ says Foxtons Private Office area director Joe Divito. While Alexander Millet reported looking forward to having ‘some stability with the worst of it over now’.
Increasingly, brokers have found themselves working with British buyers and sellers, contrary to the stories that the London super-prime market serves only the internationally wealthy. As well as this, some advisers, such as Savills’ Hugh Maconochie, have noticed an uptick in the number of requests from figures across sports, media and entertainment.
In a real estate market where it takes hard work and a formidable network to buy or sell a super-prime property, choosing the right property broker is imperative. The difference between a smooth sailing transaction and one with bumps in the road does not just create emotional frustration for those involved, it creates financial stress too.
The experts featured in Spear’s 2026 Property Brokers Index are the very best at sourcing, evaluating and negotiating property transactions at the highest level, all while prioritising their clients’ interests.
Click the links below to jump to a section of this article:
- Methodology
- The best property brokers: some names to know
- The best property brokers: the complete list
- Contact us
Methodology
Each year, the Spear’s Research Unit reassesses and refreshes its rankings of the leading providers in each sector by gathering data from and about the advisers and firms themselves, assessing submission forms, collating nominations, carrying out peer reviews, reviewing data from third-party sources, gathering references and recommendations, canvassing experts and conducting hundreds of interviews.
Advisers are evaluated using a proprietary scoring system that assigns different weightings to certain attributes. These scores feed directly into each new set of rankings in the Spear’s Indices. Each of these indices are published first online (according to the research calendar) and then in print. Print publication takes the form of the annual Spear’s 500 directory, which includes the top advisers in every index.
[See also: A guide to The Spear’s 500: Everything you need to know]
Each featured adviser is profiled on spears500.com. The site allows users to search the Spear’s database of more than 4,000 entities to find one (or more) to meet their specific requirements by filtering for specific attributes such as an adviser’s location, their specialist expertise and information about their client base.
The best property brokers: some names to know
Charles Lloyd
- Focus: Impartial UHNW advice
- Ranking: Top Recommended
- Firm: Charles Lloyd Real Estate
Across a career spanning nearly four decades, Charles Lloyd has been involved in some of the most high-profile deals in prime central London, including one of the most expensive houses ever sold in Mayfair.
In 2025, the property broker established his own firm, Charles Lloyd Real Estate, after successful roles at Savills, CBRE and Beauchamp Estates. ‘I’d done quite a significant deal on Mount Street at £43.5 million,’ he says. ‘The clients told me they had chosen to work with me personally because they knew me and trusted me. I suppose that gave me the confidence to think I could do this on my own.’
Read Charles Lloyd’s full profile on Spears500.com
Alex Christian
- Focus: London’s exclusive properties
- Ranking: Top Flight
- Firm: Savills
Few advisers can claim to operate as smoothly in the UHNW property sphere as Alex Christian, who helped to establish and currently co-heads Savills Private Office.
His enviable understanding of London’s most sought-after properties has resulted in a loyal client base. ‘The UHNWs we deal with are incredibly discerning,’ he says.
‘In a market such as this, you’ve got to have patience. You can’t just expect a quick fix. You’ve got to be very tactical in how you approach the market at the upper end.’ Protecting the privacy of his clients – and the integrity of the sale – is always part of this strategy.
Read Alex Christian’s full profile on Spears500.com
Joanna Cocking
- Focus: £4 million-plus properties
- Ranking: Top Recommended
- Firm: Hamptons
Joanna Cocking is head of the private office at Hamptons, leading its activities in London, the countryside and internationally.
She specialises in London residences and country estates, helping Hamptons’ UHNW client base to sell or secure their dream homes. As opposed to prime property in London, which moves quickly, Cocking says the situation in the countryside is markedly different and moving at a more relaxed pace. She also observes that for families selling their country homes, ‘there is a lot of emotion in that journey’.
Read Joanna Cocking’s full profile on Spears500.com
Peter Wetherell
- Focus: Mayfair property
- Ranking: Top flight
- Firm: Wetherell
Peter Wetherell, known to some as the ‘Mayfair Guru’, has specialised in this super-prime corner of the capital since starting his business in 1981.
Evidence of his continued pre-eminence is demonstrated by his appointment as valuer for freehold and lease extension claims to the Duke of Westminster’s Grosvenor estate.
‘Mayfair is an oasis,’ Wetherell tells Spear’s. ‘I’m an ambassador, an advocate, an aficionado.’ He adds that he almost single-handedly reintroduced residential life to Mayfair. ‘It was very commercial. From 1990 onward, we sold over 100 office buildings back to residential.’
Read Peter Wetherell’s full profile on Spears500.com
Susie Hollands
- Focus: International deals
- Ranking: Recommended
- Firm: Twenty1 Global
Susie Hollands founded the real estate agency Vingt Paris in 2003. Since then, the business has generated a steady flow of transactions, with high-value deals seeing an uptick since 2020. This growth inspired Hollands to launch a dedicated private client division, Twenty1. ‘It’s for a higher-budget market. We don’t list properties on the website because most of the transactions we handle, whether buying or selling, are off-market,’ she explains.
While some clients are looking for turnkey homes, the majority – roughly 80 per cent – seek advice on renovation and interior design, especially for historic Parisian apartments or châteaux. ‘I feel I can add a lot of value to the decision-making process,’ she says.
Read Susie Hollands’s full profile on Spears500.com
The best property brokers: the complete list
Contact us
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With additional reporting by Christian Maddock.
