We are Umega
A bit more about us
We’re Neil and Andy, the guys who started Umega.
We’ve been best buds since we were little. We grew up in Edinburgh, left home and became tenants. Like so many others we were ripped off, suffered poor service and were kept in the dark by our letting agents. We discovered landlords were receiving the same treatment so in 2007 we started Umega.
Umega abandons the historic behaviours common in our sector where customers are exploited. Our service will always improve through innovating and not accepting ‘good enough’. We’re creating an outstanding place to work and our commitment to culture and service has helped us grow from humble beginnings to now serving thousands of customers and being crowned Residential Lettings Team of the Year in 2018, 2019 & 2020 at the Scottish Home Awards.
We’re proud of our business, our team and where we've got to. As our employee and customer base has grown, so has our appetite and ability to do more. We have an opportunity and a responsibility to continue to progress and increase our impact as a sector-leading company and world-class employer and we are grabbing this opportunity with both hands.
Our Values
Throughout our 14+ years in business, we’ve stayed true to our core values in creating a company we’re proud to run and work for.
Work to a high bar
Show what we’re really about
Take the plunge
Improve the lives of people around us
We work to a high bar
We constantly strive to understand and deliver a better service and experience for our customers. We are disciplined in the way we work, giving us the freedom space and courage to experiment and push the boundaries.
We show what we’re really about
There is no secret sauce as to why our customers trust us. It comes from being open in the way we work, communicate and show our vulnerabilities. We do not work in fear or worry about what might happen when we give over our true selves in bucket loads.
We take the plunge
Even when we are at the top of our game, we look at how we can improve our service and our approach. We want our team to be brave, play, experiment and ultimately find better ways of doing things for our customers. We can always do more.
Our mission is to improve the lives of the people around us
Our customers and employees will not be with us forever so we place a high value on the time we have with them.
For our tenants, this means working to ensure their home is their sanctuary.
For our landlords and sales clients, this means absolute confidence their property is in the best possible hands.
For our team, this means every employee will leave Umega, not just a better professional, but with a better understanding of what they want from life.
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We started from humble beginnings in an office smaller than a garage in Corstorphine what seems like several lifetimes ago. We’ve steadily grown Umega since then earning a reputation as one of Scotland’s leading property agencies.
Here are some of the key points in the Umega story so far:
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February 2021
We started work on the Best Companies framework to measure ourselves against the top companies in the UK.
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January 2021
We launched Umega’s Property Sales estate agency service.
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October 2020
We were awarded Letting Team of the Year for the 3rd year running at the Scottish Home Awards
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March 2020
We switched to remote working and adapted our services in response to the COVID pandemic.
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January 2020
Became the highest rated letting agent in the UK on Google
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June 2019
Crowned Residential Letting Team of the Year at the Scottish Home Awards for 2nd year running
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April 2019
Opened our new Quartermile Headquarters
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December 2018
Reach 1,000 properties under management milestone
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September 2018
Won Letting team of the year at the Herald Property Awards
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June 2018
We were awarded Residential Letting Team of the Year for the first time at the Scottish Home Awards.
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January 2018
Letting Agent Registration Commences in Scotland
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December 2017
PRT (Private Rented Tenancy) launched in Scotland
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November 2017
Became Investors in People Silver Accredited
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January 2017
Umega Quartermile opens for business
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August 2016
Launch Staff Property Fund - a world first!
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November 2015
Become a B Corp Accredited business using business as a force for good - the first accredited private company in Scotland
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June 2015
We improved our service offering by hiring our first in-house maintenance technician.
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November 2014
We joined ARLA Propertymark and became voluntarily regulated. This helped support higher standards and cleaning up of the letting sector. We also joined the Safe Agent campaign and The Property Ombudsman in the same year.
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October 2014
Earned Investors in People and Investors in Young People accreditations
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March 2011
Scottish Government introduces compulsory Tenancy Deposit Scheme
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May 2009
After a year in Bruntsfield, we moved to a new head office on Marchmont Road that we called home for the next 10 years!
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May 2008
We moved to a new Bruntsfield office on the corner of Viewforth and Gilmore Place and we hired our first employee.
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September 2007
We changed name from Links Property Management to Umega Lettings. Umega was born!
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April 2006
Landlord Register introduced in Scotland
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January 2006
Links Property Management is born in Corstorphine. We shared a desk phone that was also a fax machine! The old office is now a hairdresser.
So there you have it. That’s how we got here with a lot of help from our friends, customers and team mates.
Excitingly, it feels like we and Umega are at the start of our journey. Umega can be so much better and so much more than it is today and there is a clear need for what we do.
We’ll continue to improve and meet new people, growing the Umega family as we go.
There’s nothing else we’d rather do.