Toby Corban

Corban studied business and communications at Baruch College in New York and spent a decade in the United States before returning to London.⁠[1]

At the end of 2019, just before the COVID-19 pandemic, Corban founded the property agency Corban Group, which covers property sales, searches, and lettings in prime London locations and advocates using innovation and technology to connect clients with their ideal homes. He later said the timing was not great and that relying on friends and family in London would not be enough to compete with big corporates.⁠[2][1][2][2][1]

In January 2021, the developer Avanton, working with Corban Group, launched a series of apartment tour videos on TikTok to promote its £120 million Coda development in Battersea, London; the first two videos drew a combined 120,000 views and more than 7,500 likes. Corban Group was then led by the independent agent Toby Albert-Corban and affiliated with the US brokerage Nest Seekers International; his TikTok handle was @londonrealestate, with more than 165,000 followers and 1.8 million likes, and he had more than ten years’ experience of US marketing techniques.⁠[3][3][3][3][3][3]

He said the national lockdown restrictions called for creativity in marketing property and that he saw an opportunity to bring US-style marketing techniques to the London prime market; TikTok is simple to use, so viewers who like a property video can easily share it with a friend.⁠[3][3]

On August 19, 2022, Corban incorporated CORBAN MEDIA LTD in the United Kingdom and became its director; the company’s registered nature of business is media representation services and artistic creation. In May 2023 it was renamed CM VENTURE LTD. As of October 2026, he remained its only active director.⁠[4][5][5][4][4][5]

On August 17, 2023, The Venture RoomThe Venture RoomThe Venture Room is a UK entrepreneurial media brand centered on the YouTube channel @theventureroom. Through long-form interviews with founders and street interviews such as “Asking Millionaires How They Got Rich?”, it presents entrepreneurs’ stories and advice to aspiring business owners, and runs an entrepreneur community and brand partnerships.Open the full entry released a full-length podcast interview with Corban. He recalled growing up in Enfield, north London; at 16 or 17 he and his brother used money saved from a retail job to start the men’s accessories brand Pelle London, which was stocked at Selfridges for a time. After university he applied to between 50 and 100 estate agencies and joined a high street agency’s graduate scheme, but felt constrained; just before the COVID-19 pandemic he joined an agency that helps independent agents start their own businesses, becoming a self-employed property adviser, and about two months later closed his first deal, finding a three-bedroom house in Mayfair for three tenants.⁠[6][6][6][6][6][6][6][6][6]

He said that after the COVID-19 lockdown began he started posting property videos on TikTok, one of which reached 750,000 views; for a year he posted twice a week and partnered with developers such as Canary Wharf Group to promote new buildings. He said about 60 to 70 percent of his business now came from social media and the rest from traditional methods such as letters, cold calling, door knocking, and networking events. He also said he ran a marketing company providing marketing services to businesses, with a team of three.⁠[6][6][6][6][6][6][6]

In March 2024, The Standard featured Corban in a story on London’s property influencers: aged 30, he ran Corban Group and had more than 600,000 followers across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry. He opened his TikTok account in 2020 to market his clients’ properties, build his personal brand, and “provide value” rather than to sell properties outright; after his second TikTok video went viral he began taking the platform more seriously, building relationships and closing deals through social media. As his social media work grew into a separate business, he launched Corban Media to create, sponsor, and feature in content for companies. He described himself as a real estate adviser and content creator rather than an influencer, saying his goal was to be part of the change in the industry and at the forefront of innovation.⁠[2][2][2][2][2][2][2]

In 2026, Corban was listed as “Recommended” in the Spear’s 500 property brokers index for high-net-worth clients. The index’s review said he had built a large following on LinkedInLinkedInLinkedIn is a social networking platform for professionals. It was founded in 2002 by Reid Hoffman and others, launched in 2003, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2011; after Microsoft acquired it for approximately $26.2 billion in 2016, it became a wholly owned Microsoft subsidiary. Its revenue comes from membership subscriptions, advertising, and recruitment solutions.Open the full entry, YouTube, and Instagram, using it to tour properties in some of London’s most sought-after locations, and that he often advertised luxury Manhattan addresses.⁠[1][1][1]

In early June 2026, Corban said he had been invited to 10 Downing Street for an event marking the passing of the Renters’ Rights Act, which he called the biggest change to renting in England in more than 30 years, including the end of Section 21 no-fault evictions, rolling tenancies replacing fixed terms, and stricter rules on rent increases.⁠[7][7]

On confidence: “You can definitely develop confidence. Every time you put yourself out there and get into a conversation with someone, you get better and stronger.” (at 12:24 in the video)⁠[6][6]

On getting into the business: “If you want to be an independent agent, I always recommend starting at an agency — learning through other people is the best way — unless you already have real estate or sales experience.” (at 17:35 in the video)⁠[6][6]

On finding clients: “I wasn’t calling and asking for business; I was asking whether anyone knew someone who needed help. A lot of the time, especially in sales, no one likes to be sold to.” (at 22:05 in the video)⁠[6]

On managing risk: “If I’m going to try out sales, I’ll keep doing lettings at the same time to make sure things make sense financially; you can’t just dive into one end and be delusional.” (at 26:55 in the video)⁠[6][6]

On making content: “Post as much as you can in the beginning and don’t worry too much about how it looks; think about what people are possibly searching for and make content around that instead of guessing. The main thing is consistency.” (at 51:06 in the video)⁠[6][6][6]

Personal website: https://tobycorban.com/ (opens in a new window)⁠[8]

TikTok: Public account: https://www.tiktok.com/@londonrealestate (opens in a new window)⁠[3][8]

Instagram: Public account: https://www.instagram.com/tobycorban_/ (opens in a new window)⁠[8]

YouTube: Public channel: https://www.youtube.com/@refinedlivingshow (opens in a new window)⁠[8]