Our 30 Years of History
A Julie Twist Timeline
Julie Twist Properties was founded in 1994 when Manchester was still emerging as a vibrant city. At the time, the city centre had only a few developments and around 600 residents, but Julie Twist had a clear vision and passion for its potential. Working closely with the Central Manchester Development Corporation, her goal was to help transform Manchester into a thriving, 24-hour city. Developers quickly recognized Julie’s dedication and sought her expertise in selling their properties.
In its early years, Julie Twist Properties was the only estate agent specializing in the growing city centre market. As the firm gained a reputation for its enthusiasm and success, both local and national developers entrusted Julie with more projects. Over time, the city centre population surged, with many residents choosing Julie Twist Properties for their buying, selling, and renting needs.
As demand grew, Julie expanded her team, and many of the original staff members remain part of the company today. In 2002, Julie partnered with Jones Homes to establish JJT Residential at Salford Quays, the first estate agency in the area. This was followed by a third branch in Ancoats/New Islington in 2014, further solidifying Julie Twist Properties as a leading force in Manchester’s property market. At the start of 2024 we moved to our brand new central hub down the road from our old Deansgate office to our brand new office situated across the road from Beetham Tower.
Julie’s main focus has always been to provide a trustworthy, communicative, and customer-focused service. After over 30 years, she proudly leads a talented team that delivers excellent results and plays a key role in Manchester’s growth as England’s Capital of the North.
Julie Twist
Owner
1990
1994
The start of our Journey
The start of our Journey
Julie Twist opened the doors to Julie M Twist Properties Ltd in Manchester on the 14th of February at 236 Deansgate for the first time. At this time Julie Twist Properties was the only Estate Agent in Manchester city centre for the next three years.
1995
Urban Splash
Urban Splash was the first developer to approach Julie and they collaborated on Sally’s Yard together. Manchester Arena also opened its doors by Victoria train station, where many of us have attended to watch some of the biggest names in the music industry.
1996
Devastation
Manchester City Centre was devastated by a catastrophic bomb planted by the IRA. After the tragedy this prompted the regeneration of the city centre. Despite the struggle the City suffered this year, Manchester Hall opened its doors and remains one of the city’s most popular wedding and conference premises.
1997
The Hacienda
One of Manchester’s most iconic nightclubs closed its doors for the last time. We now see The Hacienda as one of Manchester’s most popular apartment blocks amongst students and young professionals. After the catastrophic events that took place in 1996, the regeneration of Manchester City Centre was put into action and the re-build began.
1998
The Trafford Centre
The Trafford Centre opened its doors and remains the third largest shopping centre in the United Kingdom.
1999
Manchester United
Manchester United football club won the Treble, and are were at the time the only team in English football to have done so. Manchester’s rival football club Manchester City has now also joined Manchester United in the triumph.
2000
2000
Moving Office
Julie Twist Properties moved to its new office at 249 Deansgate. – show picture The Grand Hotel was reborn and converted into apartments – with it came a queue of purchasers!
2001
JJT Residential
2001 saw the opening of a second office at Salford Quays. A partnership with Jones Homes led to the creation of JJT Residential, the first estate agency on the Quays. The population in the City Centre was just 5,957 at this time.
2002
Bupa Great Run
Manchester hosted the first Bupa Great Run. The men's winner was Paul Tergat of Kenya and the women's race was won by Berhane Adere of Ethiopia. Manchester also saw its largest earthquake in a swarm.
2003
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City F.C. play their first match at the City of Manchester Stadium, having moved from Maine Road.
2004
The Wheel of Manchester
The Wheel of Manchester arrived at Exchange Square. This became an iconic attraction in the city but operated for its last time of April 15 th 2012 and was moved to Edinburgh.
2005
Best Estate Agency
This year we became winners of Best Estate Agency, Best Overall Estate Agency and the first female to win Estate Agency of the Year. Julie was the first woman and first agent in the North to win this award and is an award we are still immensely proud of. Picture of winning award
2006
Beetham Tower
Beetham Tower was completed at a cost of £150 million, making it the tallest residential building in Europe at the time of completion. The recession started to hit the property market and was an unnerving time for many people across the country.
2007
Judge Julie
Julie became a judge for the Letting Agent of the Year. She was a judge from 2007 to 2008. The Manchester College is established by merger of City College and Manchester College of Arts and Technology to form the largest further education college in the UK
2008
Best Estate Agency Website
This year we won Best Estate Agency Website in the UK with The Daily Mail UK property awards. – photo of old website The UEFA Cup Final riots happened and was allegedly sparked by the failure of a big screen erected in Piccadilly Gardens.
2009
A freshen up
After 15 years of our blue and yellow branding, we said goodbye and totally re-branded. Julie Twist Properties upgraded the colour pallets to the much softer and calmer tones of the greens and greys we use today.
2010
2010
On the move
With an ever-expanding team, we needed to again upgrade our premises and we began the refurbishment of our new double fronted home at 237-239 Deansgate.
2011
Population Growth
This year we seen population had grown in 11 years to 23,295, this was at an increase of 400%. This was the year we also saw the Manchester riots which caused widespread looting across Manchester and Salford.
2012
The BBC
The BBC moved to Salford Quays and this became the start of Media CityUK on the Quays. Salford Quays is the calmer neighbour to Manchester City Centre whilst still hosting an array of bars, restaurants, luxury apartments, theatres, and shopping.
2013
New Branch
2013 saw us add a third office to the city in Ancoats. Ancoats was still in the process of being re-generated and we saw just a handful of the bars, restaurants, and business we see in the area today. During this year, Manchester was also the city that experienced the strongest house price growth, with a rise of an astounding 21%.
2014
20th anniversary
We celebrated a huge and successful 20 years in Manchester City Centre. The property market continued to thrive.
2015
Best Estate Agency Northern 2015
This year we won a silver award for Best Estate Agency Northern 2015 and silver award in Best Small Estate Agency of the year, with the Sunday Times. Julie Twist Properties launched Finlay’s Warehouse in 2015, where we witnessed the development sell out within just 10 minutes online. A huge achievement for the sales team. Their hard work certainly paid off!
2016
The Dock Office
The Dock Office which was originally built in 1927 was converted into apartments and became the first conversion development within Salford Quays. We celebrated with a launch to reveal the building and several reservations were made on the same evening. A huge date in 2016 also marks the referendum that was held to decide whether the UK would remain as part of the EU, which we all now know as Brexit.
2017
Best Estate Agent in Salford
We were pleased to win another award this year. Gold award for Best Estate Agent in Salford. After 16 years at our office below Imperial Point, we relocated just down the road to Sovereign Point with beautiful waterfront views. Manchester suffered another tragedy in 2017. 22 innocent lives were lost during a terror attack at an Ariana Grande concert at the MEN. The people of Manchester were yet again at the hands of a devastating event but pulled together in true Mancunian style for the families of the lost loved ones.
2018
Tallest Building In The UK
Topping out of South Tower in Deansgate Square, a 200.5-metre residential development surpassing Beetham Tower as the tallest building in the UK outside London.
2019
25 years in Manchester City Centre
This year marked a 25-year birthday and celebration where those who have contributed to the company over the last two and a half decades could join to toast a successful 25 years. Another award was honoured to our sales team this time, scooping up a bronze award for the best sales team in Manchester. We were proud to of been given the opportunity to work with the developer of Globe House, a beautiful conversion that has been completely transformed into luxury apartments with onsite amenities. Globe House was built between 1870 and 1872.
2020
More Awards
A further two awards were scooped this year. Gold for Sales and Silver for Lettings for Marketing, Service and Results. 2020 was the year the planet experienced the catastrophic impact of Covid-19. An uncertain time for everyone, however we luckily and thankfully were able to bounce back. We also seen all towers in Deansgate Square complete.
2021
After The Lockdowns
After a challenging year of lockdowns, we were finally able to operate as normal in 2021 and saw a mini boom in the property market.
2022
Another Two Awards!
A further two awards were won this year, this time claiming gold awards for best agent in M3 and M4 postcode. After the success of Finlay’s Warehouse, Finlay’s Yard was developed and completed in 2022. In a bid to become a greener city, Deansgate was turned into a one-way system to allow more room for cyclists.
2023
St. John's Quarter
St. John's Quarter was formed and represents a site of 10 hectares at the eastern portion of the city bounded by the River Irwell. The area was named after St. John's Church which was founded by a wealthy banker Lord Byron who also founded the first Quay (hence Quay Street) on the River Irwell.
2024
Moving Office
We have now relocated to 332 – 334 Deansgate, just across the way from the iconic Beetham Tower. The office move was a huge project and we’re thrilled with how it has turned out. We’ve also been celebrating our 30 year anniversary this year, a huge milestone we are absolutely delighted to have achieved. 2024 also sees the UK general election.