‘Property detective’ Alex Bourne, who swapped acting for selling real estate to royalty, set for Netflix’s Buying London

A self-professed “property detective” who swapped the world of acting for London’s prime real estate, selling homes for up to £250 million to high-profile clients including royalty, will soon feature in Netflix’s latest property TV show.

Alex Bourne, 47, who lives in London, started his career as an actor in his early 20s, performing across the world in places such as LA and New York and featuring in the TV drama Family Affairs.

While acting, Alex, who was previously married to S Club 7 singer Rachel Stevens and has two children with her – Amelie, 13, and Minnie, 10 – fell in love with property and wanted to improve the services offered in London.

He therefore decided to leave the acting industry and, with his business partner Richard Douglas, is now the co-founder of London’s prestigious real estate agency London House, making his first sale of £16.95 million in Knightsbridge.

“I get to see some of the most iconic, beautiful properties in prime central London, which is just a real privilege, and I get to meet some really colourful, wonderful people, and that feeds my soul,” Alex told PA Real Life.

Alex sells properties ranging from £1 million to £250 million across the capital, and his clients include royalty, Hollywood A-listers, and tech entrepreneurs – although he cannot disclose any names.

Now, despite previously “turning his back on TV”, Alex is due to star in the upcoming Netflix series Buying London – the UK’s answer to Selling Sunset – which will offer a glimpse into the fun yet cut-throat property world in London.

“We’ve been asked to do these shows in the past and we didn’t feel it was necessarily the right timing, but Netflix is a great platform,” Alex said.

“What I liked about it is it celebrates prime central London, it celebrates the prime property industry, it offers a glimpse into the capital’s most exquisite homes.

“It also shows the relationships between agents and what it takes to sell multimillion-pound properties, so hopefully it’s just an open door into that world.”

Alex was born and bred in London and has lived in every part of the capital – north, east, south and west – which has been invaluable for business, but he did not start off in property.

The father of two said he has always been a “creative person” and, having ADHD, acting allowed him to express himself and “find (his) way” as he was often “misunderstood” by his peers.

He was in the National Youth Music Theatre for eight years and later completed a three-year acting course at Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in his early 20s, before moving out to LA.

Highlights from his 10-year acting career include working with the “legend” Sir John Gielgud and performing at the Royal Albert Hall in London and Radio City Music Hall in New York.

However, when he met and later married his now ex-wife, Rachel Stevens, Alex said he wanted to find other ways to earn a living and “fulfil (his) creativity”.

“I was looking for an ability to make money and actually facilitate my acting career,” Alex said.

“I’d been putting together off-market property deals. My father was in property for more than 40 years, although it was commercial, and living in London I just had a huge network of people.

“Being an actor, I had about 30 other careers – including being a massage therapist – so I wanted to transfer that skill set into something that I could make money from, and it just so happened that property made sense.”

Alex met his now business partner Richard Douglas while at Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, and he had quit acting to focus on property.

With a desire to be their “own bosses” and “create something different”, Alex then left the acting world and, together, they launched London House, which has been “behind some of the biggest property deals in prime central London”.

Alex said his first sale to “a royal” stands out to this day, and, on another occasion, one woman “swept in, bought a property within 24 hours, and then swept away again”.

Describing the first “iconic” sale, he said: “He’d been around the houses with every single agent but no-one was really understanding him and, because he was a royal, people were treating him completely differently.

“We wanted to show him the whole of London, every single neighbourhood and what it had to offer, and we sold a house to him for £16.95 million, which was a record for the time in Knightsbridge.

“We’re extremely discreet. We deal with high net worth individuals, if they’re royals, if they’re Hollywood A-listers, and we’ve been behind some of London’s most iconic sales and we don’t shout about it.”

For other sales, Alex said he and his team have had to source properties with private lifts, recording studios, and a car showroom – but he loves collaborating and sharing ideas.

He said he is passionate about challenging the perception of the prime property real estate industry in London as one that can be modern, trustworthy, and “fun”.

“We go beyond what other people do with property because we follow the relationships, we want to add value as much as possible. We recommend architects, interior designers, we really want to be a one-stop property bible,” he said.

“We bring the properties to life and it’s about people and lifestyle.”

Alex, who describes himself as a “spiritual person”, said his day-to-day schedule is “non-stop” during the week, and he often works on weekends.

Outside of work, he enjoys being in nature, practising yoga as this helps to keep him “grounded”, seeing friends and family, going on dog walks with his miniature Schnauzer Noodles, and visiting different restaurants as he is a “foodie”.

He is also a “proud” father to two daughters and loves spending time with them.

“They’re my world,” he said.

“Being a father of girls is wonderful because I get to see the world from a completely different viewpoint.

“I just love hanging out with my girls. That feeds my soul as much as doing this job.”

Alex has recently had to relive his acting days for the filming of Buying London, which will offer a look inside London’s most exclusive residences and the cut-throat business of selling them.

A description on Netflix’s website reads: “Follow high-end agent Daniel Daggers and team as they navigate London’s luxury property market, where the drama is as jaw-dropping as the price tags.”

Alex believes being authentic and building long-lasting, trusting relationships has been key to London House’s success over the past decade, and he is keen to “continue trying to create an amazing service industry”.

Speaking about the advice he would give to others, he said: “Believe in yourself and always be yourself because no-one can be you.

“The one thing I’m proud of about myself within this industry is I’m bringing my own energy and personality to an industry which is quite tough.

“I think that my biggest advice is you can be in any job, whatever it is, and still be creative, as long as you’re being you, and trust your instinct.”

To find out more about London House, visit: londonhouse.co.uk.