Andy Martin has been at the helm of Strutt & Parker since 2009 and was head of the commercial division for four years prior to that.
During his tenure he is credited with bringing together the commercial and residential arms of the UK business.
As incoming UK chief executive of BNP Paribas Real Estate he now faces the much larger challenge of overseeing the merger of Strutt & Parker with the real estate arm of the French banking giant.
Who is Martin?
Martin started his career as an investment agent at Richard Ellis, now CBRE, before joining Strutt & Parker in 1985.
He was responsible for creating the Business Park Index with the IPD, now regarded as a benchmark for the industry, and he also set up the Strutt & Parker IPD lease events review.
Martin’s areas of expertise lie in funding, investment, development, master-planning and place-making.
He was appointed trustee of the Urban Land Institute in April 2015, following two years as chairman of the ULI’s United Kingdom District Council and was formerly chairman and board member of the UK-based Investment Property Forum, of which he is now a life member.
He holds advisory roles at financial services firm Stifel Nicolaus Europe and property advisory firm Hodes Weill & Associates.
His experience means he is seen as someone who understand the whole business, not just elements of it. “He’s clearly been in the gig a long time and he’s got there because people trust him,” said one executive at a rival advisory firm. “He’s very inclusive, a good people manager.”
Simon Prichard, senior partner at Gerald Eve, said: “I think he’s a very decent considerate man with good communication skills and good luck to him.”
Why now?
Martin was due to retire as senior partner of Strutts this year as partnership rules dictate that partners must do so in their 60th year.
It is understood he recently bought a house in Connecticut, USA, where he planned to move with his American wife and expand his existing advisory roles until the BNP PRE role came up.
Rob Bould, former chief executive of GVA Bilfinger and a personal friend of Martin, says he never believed he would retire.
“I never thought that was going to happen,” he says. “I just think he’s got too much intellect to not take on the challenge of moving Strutt & Parker, great practice that it is, in to a much stronger European entity, and I think he would relish this challenge.”
Bould, who describes Martin as “the thinking man’s agent”, says he will be able to draw on his experience bringing together the formerly distinct commercial and residential operating businesses at Strutts.
Martin Samworth, EMEA chief executive at CBRE, said: “Confirmation of the deal this week brings to an end many months of speculation and rumour and will allow the parties involved to focus their energies on the impending integration ahead. I have known Andy for a long time and wish him well with this new chapter of his career.”
What a merged BNP PRE/Strutt & Parker would look like
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