Clare Hughes is an independent estate agent working in partnership with eXp UK, who has worked in the residential property market for over 20 years with a focus on East London. In 2019, Clare was diagnosed with a brain tumour, and in February 2020 she underwent surgery after the tumour had grown to press onto Clare’s brain stem, damaging facial nerves and preventing her hearing on the left side, which in turn affected her balance. Clare spent the next few months recovering, as the rest of the world entered the Covid-19 pandemic.
In the summer of 2020, Clare decided she was ready to go back to work but was reluctant to take up a full-time role. After hearing about eXp UK from an old colleague, Clare opted to launch her own business as an independent estate agent in partnership with eXp UK on October 1st 2020, favouring the flexible hours the business was able to provide. She’s since established a highly successful business and in under two years already has 18 agents working with her. Together with her colleague, Liana Loporto-Browne, she’s also started a Facebook group, ‘Women in Estate Agency,’ which encourages women in the industry to discuss experiences of bias openly and provide support to one another. This group now has more than 1,200 members and has provided fantastic support and networking opportunities for women in the industry, including encouraging women to make the career move into the modern, flexible working model that eXp UK offers. Clare says, “I tell all the women I speak to that they absolutely can do it. It’s never too late, even if you are older or have children. I believe the maturity that comes with getting older makes the process much easier.”