Nick Elgey is a veteran county chartered surveyor and estate agent with more than 35 years of professional experience in Cumbria.

He is a property sales and marketing consultant for Hackney & Leigh, who have nine offices and specialise in selling houses within the Lake District National Park.

He said: "I grew up in Carlisle and attended Austin Friars school.

"As a teenager I enjoyed reading the property section of The Cumberland News and seeing the various houses advertised for sale.

"This led me to securing a summer holiday job with Tiffen King Nicholson estate agents and triggered my ambition to become a chartered surveyor.

"I gained a degree in estate management at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh and returned to Carlisle as a graduate surveyor with John Taylor & Co, where I qualified as a chartered surveyor. John was an excellent mentor for me and while working with him I passionately developed my expertise as an estate agent.

"My career advanced in 1992 when, aged 29, I joined Cumberland Building Society and 18 months later I was promoted to the position of managing director of their estate agency subsidiary, which I expanded to be the largest estate agency in Cumbria with 13 offices.

"I spent more than 24 years with Cumberland Estate Agents. I joined Hackney & Leigh chartered surveyors two years ago as a property sales and marketing consultant. I currently manage the North Lakes estate agency offices for Hackney & Leigh in Keswick and Penrith.

"Unquestionably the most fundamental changes in residential estate agency practice during my career have been caused by technology, the internet, mobile phones and social media. These have revolutionised the methods of engaging and communicating with customers and radically improved the effectiveness of marketing and searching for available properties.

"The leading property portals, including Rightmove, Zoopla and On The Market, have grown to become the dominant primary marketing tools for all estate agents and customers now expect property advertising to include a much wider range of information including floor plans, videos and virtual tours.

"My position with Hackney & Leigh is by far the most pleasurable role I have ever enjoyed in my career. It really is a privilege to work in the stunningly beautiful scenery of the Lake District National Park and sell some wonderful houses. I particularly enjoy meeting and assisting all types of interesting people from various parts of the country and world. I could write a book about some of the properties I have seen and the characters I have met. It is always rewarding when people appreciate the advice and personal service which I provide for them.

"To succeed in business, I believe that you must firstly set clear objectives and adopt an action plan to help achieve the required results. Maintaining focus and reviewing progress on these is equally essential, as is learning from any mistakes, providing an exceptional level of service and assembling a team of staff who are aligned with the business objectives and committed to achieving them. The importance of motivating, developing and retaining an effective team of staff should never be underestimated.

"In my spare time I enjoy the pleasures of my wife’s home cooking, being with my family and socialising with friends. I keep fit by jogging, swimming and going to the gym."