A former estate agency senior and housing minister is now running the Conservative party following Kemi Badenoch’s reshuffle late yesterday.

Kevin Hollinrake, whose housing brief is being replaced by James Cleverly after he was appointed shadow Secretary for Housing, Communities and Local Government Hollinrake, has been appointed as the Conservative Party Chairman.

The adroitness that helped him build an estate agency – Hunters – from scratch has also aided his rise through the Tory ranks.

He is now in charge of running the Conservative Party on a day-to-day basis, as well as shaping its future re-election efforts as the next General Election looms.

Political success

Hollinrake is reported to have been given the role following his successful efforts to highlight the failings of both Labour and Reform in local government, working hand in hand with Conservative councillors.

The former estate agent, who is also a landlord, entered politics following a highly successful career in estate agency, during which he established Hunters in 1992 and then grew it into a 150-branch operation by 2015, when it floated on AIM, the same year he was elected MP for Thirsk and Malton.

After several years as a backbench MP, he became a business minister in 2022 and a minister of state for the same brief in 2024.

During the most recent general election he kept his seat, albeit with a much reduced majority, and was appointed as a shadow business and trade minister before becoming shadow housing minister later that year.

He also appeared at TheNegotiator Conference last November in London, telling delegates that neither he nor Badenoch supported the regulation of estate agents. In 2015 he was honoured by the industry, receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award at The Negotiator Awards – just as he began his political career.