"As property firms grow, the risk is that what made them successful in the first place gets lost: client service, local knowledge, agility, and employee loyalty"
- Rebecca Wilkinson - Menzies LLP
From independent estate agencies expanding regionally to developers scaling up their residential pipeline, property businesses across the UK are eyeing ambitious growth. But for many, it’s not regulation, funding, or market volatility that’s creating the biggest barrier — it’s leadership.
Menzies’ latest research, The Greatest Leap, surveyed 500 UK business leaders, including a significant cohort from the property sector. Nearly 4 in 10 (39%) said they are struggling to build competent senior teams to share responsibility and help drive the business forward. A further 28% said hiring and retaining the right talent is their biggest business challenge.
These issues are especially acute in property, where growth often relies on operational consistency, client service and deep local knowledge. Whether managing multi-branch operations, scaling a lettings portfolio, or increasing development activity, firms need strong leadership at every level to make progress. But in too many cases, the people at the top are doing too much — and it’s costing them.
Burnout at the top
Our research reveals that 37% of property leaders say they have no work-life balance. A quarter report chronic stress or burnout. Nearly a third are struggling to maintain emotional stability — and when leadership cracks under pressure, the entire business feels the impact.
Growth places a huge strain on individuals. Directors often find themselves pulled in every direction: closing deals, managing clients, reviewing cash flow, overseeing compliance, and stepping in to fill gaps when recruitment lags. But while that may work at the early stages of a business, it doesn’t scale. The more time spent firefighting today’s issues, the less time remains to plan for tomorrow.
Are you outgrowing your leadership model?
What we often see in high-potential property firms is a leadership structure that hasn’t evolved in line with the business. The company has grown — more branches, more staff, more revenue — but the way it’s run still relies heavily on the founder or a handful of senior managers.
That creates risk. When key decisions are centralised, progress slows. When experienced staff leave, there’s no succession in place. When leadership is overstretched, clients get less attention, and teams lose direction.
Avoiding this means thinking ahead. What will your business look like at double the current size? What roles will you need? Who’s on a path to senior responsibility, and where are the gaps you’ll need to fill?
The property businesses that grow successfully are the ones that ask and answer these questions early.
Scaling leadership with the business
This doesn’t always mean hiring externally. Often, the right people are already in the business — they just need clearer roles, more support, and the opportunity to step up. In some cases, it might mean reshuffling senior roles to unlock potential. In others, bringing in external expertise might be the best way to accelerate progress and introduce fresh thinking.
Either way, it starts with a clear view of what your leadership team needs to look like in one, three, and five years and building a plan to get there.
Letting go is part of this. One of the hardest transitions for any property leader is to stop doing everything and start focusing on the areas where they add the most value. That might be a strategy, client relationships, and growth — but not day-to-day firefighting.
Delegation is essential, but it only works when there’s a structure in place to support it.
Culture matters more as you grow
As property firms grow, the risk is that what made them successful in the first place gets lost: client service, local knowledge, agility, and employee loyalty.
Preserving that culture through growth means being deliberate. Leadership has to invest in internal communication, staff development, and systems that enable consistency and quality at scale. Otherwise, growth can lead to fragmentation — and that’s when service dips and people leave.
If your current leaders are exhausted or unsupported, culture is often the first thing to suffer. This makes leadership wellbeing a business-critical issue.
Moving forward with confidence
The leap from mid-sized to large business is always tough. In the property sector, where deals move quickly and reputations are hard-earned, it can feel especially high stakes. But the firms that get there are the ones who take leadership seriously.
That means recognising the signs of strain, building the team before you need it, and having the confidence to evolve your role as your business evolves.
Growth demands change. And for property leaders, that change starts at the top.
