- Umega is an Edinburgh-based residential property management platform operating on a fee-for-service model across Edinburgh and East Lothian;
- The £1.05m facility from OakNorth will help fund Umega’s acquisition of a majority stake in Easylets, a Dundee-based residential lettings and property management business;
- The acquisition represents Umega’s sixth completed transaction since 2015, and will position the enlarged group as the second-largest residential lettings platform in Scotland by properties under management, with over 3,500 properties across Edinburgh, East Lothian, and Dundee.
London, Tuesday 3rd November, 2026: OakNorth, the digital bank for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs, has provided a £1.05m facility to Umega, an Edinburgh-based residential property management business, to help fund the acquisition of a majority stake in Easylets, a Dundee-based lettings and property management platform with just under 1,000 properties under management.
Founded in 2007 by Andy Whitmey and Neil McInnes, Umega operates as a residential property management business – acting exclusively as agent on behalf of landlords and institutional clients. The business has grown from 50 properties under management at inception to more than 2,500 today, built through a combination of organic growth and a disciplined acquisition programme spanning five completed transactions since 2015. The acquisition of Easylets adds nearly another 1,000-property portfolio to the Umega group, taking the combined platform to more than 3,500 properties under management and establishing the business as the second-largest residential lettings operator in Scotland. Easylets’ founder, Jack Reavley, retains a shareholding in the business and will remain involved following completion, providing continuity for landlords and clients through the integration. The Easylets brand will be retained, with Jack continuing to lead its growth in the Dundee market.
Neil McInnes, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Umega, commented: “We’ve been building this business one city at a time, and Easylets is a genuinely exciting addition – a well-run, long-established agency with deep roots in the Dundee landlord community that we can now back with our marketing infrastructure, technology platforms, and integration experience – and plenty for us to learn from in return, from a team that has built something strong in a different city. What mattered to us was finding a lending partner that understands what a lettings management business actually looks like financially – the recurring fee model, the cash flow dynamics, the acquisition multiples we work to – rather than trying to shoehorn us into a framework built for a different kind of business. OakNorth got that from the outset, which made the whole process considerably more collaborative and straightforward.”
Michael McGregor, Debt Finance Director at OakNorth, continued: “Umega is exactly the kind of business we find compelling – deeply embedded in its market, genuinely differentiated from the competition, and led by a management team that has shown it can execute the same playbook repeatedly without losing focus on the day-to-day quality of the business. The Scottish private rented sector is growing and, if anything, regulatory complexity is creating structural advantages for operators such as Umega that are built to handle it. We’re delighted to be backing Andy and Neil on this acquisition and look forward to supporting the wider growth strategy as they continue to scale.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
About OakNorth
Launched in September 2015, OakNorth is the bank for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs. It was founded to address the persistent funding gap facing lower mid-market businesses – a segment that accounts for a significant share of economic output yet remains underserved by traditional banks.
To date, OakNorth has provided over $24bn in lending to thousands of entrepreneur-led businesses across the UK and US, supporting the creation of more than 70,000 jobs and generating more than $54bn in economic value. Throughout multiple economic cycles, the bank has maintained a highly disciplined approach to credit, delivering performance metrics that place it among the top 1% of commercial banks globally.
It is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.
Visit www.oaknorth.co.uk for more information.