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While brands often rely on a network for support, systems, and expertise, sometimes striking out independently becomes the only way to continue growing, establish a unique culture, and build their own identity.
When Lifestyle CEO David Gray acquired his 21st office under the Elders brand, he knew he had outgrown the network and was ready to take on new challenges, ultimately founding the Lifestyle Group.
Originally part of the Elders network for eight years, Lifestyle began with the acquisition of Elders Port Macquarie in 2017, which now serves as the group’s headquarters, and has since expanded across the mid-north coast and northern NSW.
With over 200 employees, 8,000 properties under management, 500 holiday management and over 1,000 sales totalling $830 million in 2024, Gray decided to split from Elders in March 2025, as the business had “outgrown” a network’s franchise model.
“We went down and spoke to Elders and had a conversation with them about how we were struggling with the number of offices inside a franchise,” Gray told REB.
“We also interviewed two major franchises and felt that we were too big to fit into a network.”
“It was time to build our own personality, our own culture, and go our own way.”
Gray said the rebrand reflected the company’s growth mindset, introducing a dynamic new chapter for the network and helping solidify the group’s footprint in the real estate sector.
A lengthy process
While deciding to split from a major network is doable, Gray said the process was lengthy and complicated.
“Internally, the team were ready for it. They were quite excited to go their own way in Lifestyle.”
“But it takes time.”
Once the decision to leave the network was made, he said the Lifestyle Group embarked on a 12-month separation process, having prepared thoroughly for the challenges ahead.
To ensure he understood what lay ahead, Gray said he reached out to another brand, Coastal, which had undergone a similar separation from Harcourts.
He said the conversation had given him valuable insight into the challenges the brand would face as it sought to establish itself as an independent entity.
“Their best advice was that ‘just because internally you are known as your sub-brand, doesn’t mean the market does’, so we were quite ready for that.”
The unexpected challenges
Although Gray had anticipated challenges along the way, he said some obstacles turned out to be greater than expected.
“I never left the franchise network because of cost, but I underestimated the costings moving forward.”
“I did underestimate the cash flow that we needed for a rebranding.”
One challenge that was significantly larger than anticipated was the handling of data.
“The moving of data and lost emails caused us more grief because we thought we were prepared for it, but we never could have been,” Gray said.
Despite the difficulty of managing the data during the transition, he said the move went almost as smoothly as it could have and that the organisation handled it as well as possible.
“I think you always learn, and it certainly wasn’t perfect, but I’m very proud of the way the team went about it,” he said.
“I wouldn’t have done it sooner, and I wouldn’t have done it later. It felt like, because of the amount of planning that we were ready to make that move.”
“At the time, I would probably just have had a bit more money in the bank account.”
From Elders to Lifestyle
After making the split from Elders, Gray said that’s when the brand was well-positioned to build and grow, and had done so rapidly in the past 11 months.
“We’ve had some amazing growth.”
“We have brought nine other businesses in that time, we have put on eight more offices, and our market share has also risen.”
When dealing with the brand’s recent rapid growth, Gray said it had been difficult to find a proper balance, and some staff may have taken on more than necessary.
“We grew very fast last year on purpose because we wanted to fill in our gaps.”
“Some opportunities came up that we didn’t think would happen, and they did, so we managed it, but probably with a lot of costs, personnel costs.”
Gray said the costs hadn’t come in the form of a loss of staff, but key staff members may have been pushed close to the point of burnout.
Looking beyond its first year, Gray said Lifestyle looked to start 2026 off on the right note.
“We just had the best week we have ever had in February, which is an exciting time.”
“Moving forward will be very focused, and it looks bright,” Gray concluded.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mathew Williams
Born in the rural town of Griffith NSW, Mathew Williams is a graduate journalist who has always had a passion for storytelling. Having graduated from the University of Canberra with a Bachelor of Sports Media in 2023, Mathew recently made the move to Sydney from Canberra to pursue a career in journalism and has joined the Momentum Media team, writing for their real estate brands. Outside of journalism, Mathew is an avid fan of all things sports and regularly attends sporting events across Sydney. Get in touch at
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