A major letting industry event brought agency owners, suppliers and sector specialists together for two days of discussion, training and networking as Agent Rainmaker Live 2025 took place at the Marriott Heathrow.
Hosted by Sally Lawson, the event featured speakers including NRLA chief executive Ben Beadle, along with authors and motivational speakers Nigel Risner and Jim Lawless, who addressed current industry challenges and opportunities expected in 2026 and beyond.
This year’s theme, “DDWADDWD – Don’t Do What a Dodo Would Do,” focused on how letting agency owners can prepare, optimise, outsource and upsell to remain resilient in a changing market.
The theme prompted conversations throughout the event about adaptability, awareness and the need for businesses to consider new approaches to working.
“We’ve hosted AR Live for seven years now and every year it’s always bigger and better than the last,” explained Lawson. “This year it was all about how letting agents can avoid extinction by putting in place strategies and techniques to improve their profit margins, stop doing things for free, and charging for what they’re worth. From technology and automation to staffing and pricing structures, we covered it all.”
Delegates discussed current challenges, shared practical solutions and compared approaches to common issues.
A panel featuring industry figures, including the NRLA’s Ben Beadle, examined the forthcoming Renters’ Rights Act, which comes into force on 1 May 2026. Key points included the need to balance investment in staff with cost pressures, and the expectation that agencies with strong expertise in compliance and tenancy evictions may be better positioned to manage the changes ahead.
Lawson added: “This year was all about highlighting the real opportunity that letting agents have to lead, to guide their landlords, and to embrace tools and strategies that free up time and create better outcomes for everyone. And the room was full of geared-up agents ready to take on that challenge.”
Some of the key takeaways for agents included:
+ Identifying ways to convert let only clients to fully managed
+ Upselling and sideselling with a diverse range of services – going from just two (let only and fully managed) to up to 53, with services such as property staging, referral networks, high-end photography and outsourcing low-value tasks
+ Charging for inspections
+ Increasing fees to cover the cost of additional compliance responsibilities.
