UK Estate Agency Ditches the High Street, Goes Self-Employed Under 'NAKED' Brand
The Negotiator · Nigel Lewis · 11 August 2026
TL;DR
A six-year-old Essex-based estate agency, Gyles & Rose, has rebranded as the Naked Collective — trading as NAKED agents — under new owner Charlie Morgan. The business has adopted a self-employed model by joining the eXp UK platform through its recently launched Teams structure, which allows agencies to build their own brand and recruit self-employed agents while operating within the eXp ecosystem. Morgan, who previously co-founded Oakheart during the Covid pandemic, says the rebrand is a deliberate move away from traditional high street offices, rigid hierarchies, and outdated processes. The agency continues to operate from a business park in Colchester rather than a high street premises, and positions itself around transparency and modern marketing.
Our take
This story is set in the UK, but it carries a signal worth watching for South African agents and agency principals. The self-employed, cloud-based brokerage model — where agents work under a shared brand and platform without a fixed office — is already gaining traction locally, with players like eXp having a presence in SA. For independent agents registered with the EAAB, the appeal is real: lower overheads, greater autonomy, and access to shared marketing tools without the cost of running a traditional branch. For landlords and sellers, the question is whether accountability and service quality hold up when there's no physical office to walk into. SA consumers are still largely office-comfort oriented, so agencies adopting this model locally will need to work harder on trust signals — think verified agent profiles, clear complaint channels under the Rental Housing Act, and POPIA-compliant data handling. Worth monitoring as the model matures in markets ahead of ours.
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