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WE ARE UMEGA

Why are lettings and estate agencies so bad, and why do customers put up with it?

This was the question that led to UMEGA being started by two childhood friends. Neil & Andy grew up across the street from each other and spent their formative years playing Nintendo and dreaming about the day they would start a letting agency. Ok, only two of those things are true, but the important part is that when they left home and joined the real world, letting agencies treated them, as tenants, like an inconvenience rather than customers. They went on to realise that landlords, sellers and buyers were not being treated much better.

When Neil & Andy made the decision to start a lettings and estate agency, it was because theirs would look after people. Treat customers as they wished they’d been treated rather than negative experiences they had to go through when they left home.

Over the last 16 years, this simple and obvious approach has led to Umega becoming one of the biggest agencies in Scotland. UMEGA is recognised as the best medium-sized letting agency in the UK and the best overall agent in Scotland. UMEGA is also ranked in the top 100 Best Companies to Work For in the UK.

Our Ethos of Taking Care of people underpins our company values and this care has never been more important in our industry. The demand for UMEGA’s services has never been greater as tenants, landlords, home sellers and buyers, wake up to the realisation that they shouldn’t settle for 1-star treatment when their home is at stake.

Excitingly, UMEGA’s work is just beginning.

 

WE TAKE CARE OF PEOPLE

This ethos of taking care of people underpins our 4 values

WE'RE OPEN

With our customers, suppliers, and employees

WE ACT WITH BRAVERY

We’re not afraid to behave and think for ourselves. Being brave in making decisions, having direct conversations, giving and receiving feedback and staying committed to our goals.

WE MAKE PROGRESS

We strive to understand and deliver a better experience for our customer and colleagues. We don’t put off getting started and we always, always make progress, moving forward towards our shared goal.

THINKING POSITIVELY

about what we’re capable of and what we aim to achieve

IF OUR EMPLOYEES LOVE THEIR WORK, OUR CUSTOMERS WILL LOVE THEIR WORK

WHAT’S IT LIKE TO WORK AT UMEGA?

LEARN MORE

UMEGA NET ZERO

We recognise our responsibility to limit the negative impact our business has on the environment and for that reason Umega is proud to be a Net-Zero organisation.

Each year we engage with a Carbon Footprint specialist to develop an in depth understand of our carbon footprint and to identify ways to reduce our carbon output. We go a step further and offset our carbon emissions through a certified carbon offsetting project, compensating for our emissions by funding an equivalent carbon dioxide saving elsewhere, allowing us to achieve a ‘Net Zero’ rating.

We’re currently transitioning our fleet of vehicles over to electric alongside getting our team consciously considering their individual environmental footprint with the aim of reducing our carbon footprint in 2024.

OUR STORY SO FAR

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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    January 2024

    We moved to our new office at The North Quarter, 496 Ferry Road, Edinburgh

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    November 2023

    We won the Scottish Agency of the year at the Negotiator Awards

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    November 2023

    We won UK Letting Agency of the year at the Negotiator Awards

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    July 2023

    Instructed as managing agent for Edinburgh Council's mid-market rent portfolio, Edinburgh Living

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    March 2023

    Launched our new Home Repairs service

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    October 2022

    Umega has been identified as one of the top estate agents and in the country and now features in the Best Estate Agents Guide

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    October 2022

    Umega has been identified as one of the top letting agents and in the country and now features in the Best Estate Agents Guide

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    August 2022

    Recognised at #66 in top 100 small companies to work for in the UK

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    June 2022

    We’ve gone ‘net zero’ by offsetting 5 tonnes of carbon a month through planting trees in Scotland to help combat climate change

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    May 2022

    Best Companies - We reached 1 Star status with Best Companies Employee Engagement Specialists meaning we have ‘Very Good’ levels of workplace engagement

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    April 2022

    We achieved Carbon Footprint Standard meaning we’re deemed to be an Environmentally responsible organisation

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    December 2021

    We won the hotly contested UK Letting Agency of the year and Scottish Agency of the year at the Negotiator Awards

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    November 2021

    We won the Best Estate Agent Guide's Exceptional award for Lettings!

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    July 2021

    Our first New Homes Sales instruction

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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.

Want to talk to our team? contact us today!













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