The History of Abode

Rooted in the Bristol Lettings Market

Our Story

Abode Property Management was built on a simple belief: that great property management comes down to trust, personal service and local expertise. Since 2001, we’ve been involved in the Bristol lettings market providing services to tenants and landlords across the city and surrounding areas.

In that time, we’ve become one of Bristol’s largest letting agencies and we’re proud of the service we offer. Situated on Whiteladies Road, many of our landlords have been with us since the early days and have taken up new services as their property portfolios have grown.

2001

In The Beginning

In 2001, Abode Property Management was founded by Steven Harris with the goal of providing a better service than anyone else. Steve came from a background in corporate commercial marketing and was passionate about managing his own business.

Ben Curme worked with Steve from the first days of the business and is the Operations Director at Abode today.

2005

Expanding team

In 2005, Kerry Sweeney, our Finance Manager, joined our team, bringing a wealth of knowledge from a previous lettings & management firm.

Today she has over 25 years of experience in supporting the accounting procedures and finance side of our business.

2006

Prestige acquisition

2006 saw the acquisition of a local letting agent, Prestige. With this, Mike Dixon joined the team and became a key member of staff at Abode. Mike is now the Lettings Director at Abode.

2010

arla approval

In 2010, Abode became an ARLA approved letting agency, the leading professional body for the property sector. We were proud to be one of the first letting agencies in Bristol to achieve this mark of approval.

2014

further acquisitions

In 2014, Abode acquired Nugent & Wallis and saw another acquisition later in the year of Absolute Lettings.

To this day, we still manage many properties from both Prestige Lettings and Nugent and Wallis – including properties for the founding members of both businesses.

2015

a fresh brand

In 2015, It was all change in 2015 with a complete rebrand which included a brand new website and an extensive office refit.

Deborah Mitchell joined the Abode team as New Business Manager.

Deborah remains a key member of the team today and is instrumental in Abode’s involvement in many local developments.

2016

crest nicholson partnership

In 2016, we worked on promoting investment opportunities to landlords for the Crest Nicholson’s paintworks development which saw the creation of stylish apartments in Arnos Vale.

2017

number one bristol

2017 was the year of another development investment opportunity, Number One Bristol. The developer on this project was the PG Group and Savills were the sales agent. The development included 148 residential apartments, commercial space and offices.

2018

jubilee and kingsley thomas aquisition

In 2018, Abode continued to grow as it acquired Jubilee Lets. This was closely followed by the acquisition of Kingsley Thomas, another letting agency based in Bristol.

2019

factory no 1

Another year saw another collaboration on a development project, Factory No.1 where we worked closely with developer City & Country and sales agent Savills.

This award winning residential development saw the creation of a selection of beautiful 1 & 2 bedroom apartments and 3 bedroom penthouses.

2020

the general & whapping wharf

2020 was the year that The General was completed by developer City & Country. We worked closely with sales agent Savills to let the 2 & 3 bedroom apartments at the former site of the Bristol General Hospital.

It also saw the second phase of the Wapping Wharf development by Umberslade with Savills acting as the sales agent which began in 2015. The development includes a stunning range of contemporary apartments and penthouses.

2020 was the year that saw COVID cause major disruption across the world.

At Abode, we pivoted to working remotely and introduced virtual viewings using Matterport technology to support both landlords and tenants. We now operate as dynamically as possible to maximise customer experience and staff efficiency.

2021

investment in technology

In 2021 it was time for another website refresh.

Extra focus was given to the property search feature to make it easier for prospective tenants to find the property that suited them. At the same time, Abode invested in what is known as the Rolls Royce of CRM systems – Reapit. As many in our industry know, this is one of the most efficient lettings CRM tools to support our team.

2022

everards printing works

The turn of the new year saw another development in Everards Printing Works, a redevelopment in Bristol’s historic quarter by developer Artisan Real Estate and sales agent Knight Frank.

2023

brabazon development of filton airfield

2023 saw the launch of another investment opportunity for landlords in the form of the Brabazon, which will see Filton Airfield be transformed into a thriving new neighbourhood.

Deborah Mitchell, New Business Manager at Abode will be part of a panel of local property experts to discuss the investment potential of this new city district.

2025

today

Today, our team has grown to 20 lettings professionals all committed to providing a high level of personal service.

We manage properties across every area of Bristol, combining the scale and structure of a well-established business with the friendly, responsive service of a local team that truly cares.

Our team is like a tightly, well-managed ship. And we know the investment in their training, working collaboratively as a team and enjoying team building events outside of work all helps to enhance our end-service for tenants, landlords and investors.