Martin founded Salamanca Group in 2002. Since the start, Martin has been at the helm of the Group, where he led on the regeneration of the Mediterranean’s leading superyacht marina and Bulgaria Mall, one of the largest developments completed in South-Eastern Europe when launched.

Initially, Salamanca invested Partner Funds into Real Estate, Mining and Infrastructure related projects. In 2005 Martin co-founded Salamanca Risk Management, which was sold to Management and XL Insurance in 2016 and is now known as S-R-M. In 2008 Salamanca was repositioned as a Merchant Banking Business. In 2012 Martin acquired Investec’s Trust Business from the Bank, which over £10bn under Trust; this business was subsequently sold to Management and an external investor.

In 2017, Martin became Chairman and Co-CEO of Gravity, the UK’s first commercial smart campus – a blueprint for a smarter, cleaner future underpinned by clean growth. Home to where companies make a difference socially, economically and environmentally.

In 2019 Martin, in response to what he sees as a seismic change to the global economy similar to the industrial revolution, focused the Group on Clean Growth opportunities. Martin is also the founder of the Clean Growth Leadership Network (CGLN) and the Chairman of Bounce Forward, a charity focused on teaching resilience in schools.

In 2021, Martin was appointed as Director of Wildfox Resorts, which will bring to fruition a series of UK ‘Active adventure resorts’, with the first resort based in Afan Valley, South Wales.

In 1997 he became one of a few people to row the Atlantic Ocean with his good friend Mark Mortimer. Martin holds an MBA from Reading University and is a fellow in the Royal Geographical Society.

Click here to listen to Martin discuss our Principal Investment’s push towards sustainability and Clean Growth on BBC Radio Five Live’s ‘Wake up to Money’ programme. 

Claire is the Director, Planning and Economic Development at Salamanca Group, responsible for leading negotiations and bespoke development solutions for national and local infrastructure projects. Skilled in strategy, place leadership and management, creating conditions for investment and growth.

Claire has an exceptional track record as Chief Planner in the development sector, prior to joining Salamanca Group she led the top-performing local authority team in the UK, spearheading the planning negotiations for Hinkley Point, Western Europe’s largest infrastructure project. Claire holds an MSc from the University of Reading.

Tom started his career as a commercial property lawyer at Rowe and Maw in London where he worked for 10 years. In 2000 Tom left the law and set up his first property development company, and since then has run a number of development companies spanning most sectors in the real estate industry, but with a particular focus on infrastructure and energy.

Along with Salamanca Group, he is the Co-founder and Co-CEO of Gravity and is also a partner and Director of Renaissance Land.

He brings over 27 years of mixed-use development experience to the team and has completed developments in most sectors of the development world. His legal background brings a different perspective to the strategic direction of the real estate team at Salamanca Group. He bridges a vital gap between legal, finance, tenant occupation, construction and delivery of the ultimate schemes, and is thereby able to generate maximum value from outset to completion.

Tom attended Gresham’s School and then graduated from Exeter University, finally attending Guildford Law School before starting his legal career in London.

Paul Lowndes is a Programme Director with more than 30 years of international experience delivering high-value property and infrastructure engineering programmes. Paul and his team take care of every aspect of project delivery from the initial brief, to analysing and advising on risk, helping appoint the project team, issuing procedures and managing development programmes. Paul has overseen work across all Salamanca Group divisions and is currently playing a key role in the development of a 616-acre innovation campus in the UK called Gravity.  He was instrumental in the development of a large residential property portfolio and light industrial site in Brazil, the redevelopment of OneOcean Port Vell in Barcelona (a superyacht marina) and in the construction of Bulgaria Mall, one of the largest mixed-use schemes currently being developed in Bulgaria. Before joining Salamanca Group, Paul was a Director at First Engineering Holdings Ltd where he oversaw a number of very large rail infrastructure projects. Prior to this he was General Manager at Gammon Construction Ltd responsible for the Philippines and prior to this was a Director at WTP overseeing major Real Estate developments in various locations throughout Southeast Asia and Australia. Paul is a Chartered Quantity Surveyor [BSc, ARICS, AAIQS, AHKIS].

Geraint joined Salamanca in 2014 and has 11 years of experience of acting as a principal for, and advisor to, private equity firms in their investment activities in the real assets sector.

He is responsible for managing Salamanca’s principal corporate finance and investment activities and leads the corporate financial activities of Gravity, the UK’s first large-scale commercial smart campus.

Prior to Salamanca, Geraint worked within the investment teams of Infrared Capital Partners and Triple Point Investment Management.

Geraint holds masters in finance (specialising in energy sector leveraged buyouts), and mathematics (specialising in quantum computational algorithms) and enjoys rugby and open-water swimming.

Esther Croft is the Director of Sustainable Communities, she is responsible for ensuring that local communities participate and benefit from the Group’s social value initiatives across its UK real estate assets.

Prior to joining Salamanca Group, Esther successfully delivered a new city quarter in Gloucester, securing £107m to create a transformational mixed-use community proving the value of private/public sector partnerships. Esther led on the creation of the strategic land initiative from the outset, managing the whole 360-degree development lifecycle, innovating a new approach to place creation, and securing socio-economic outcomes.

Previously with Homes England and SWRDA, Esther has successfully delivered other large-scale mixed-use regeneration projects such as Daedalus Enterprise Zone on the south coast and Osprey Quay in Portland the venue for the Olympic Games sailing village.  Areas of expertise include land acquisitions/disposals/joint ventures and the ability to identify, develop and deliver development projects often within complex and challenging environments

Renato Garcia is the co-founder and Managing Director of Salamanca Group’s Natal office in Brazil and is responsible for managing investment and advisory operations in Brazil, including deal sourcing, project delivery and business development.Since 2008 Renato has played a key role in forming one of the leading investment and advisory firms in North East Brazil. He is Chairman of the Board of Ecocil Incorporações, a leading Brazilian real estate developer. Prior to Salamanca Capital, Renato was co-founder and Managing Director of RGarcia Consultoria e Investimentos, Natal and a Senior Associate Consultant at McKinsey & Company, Sao Paulo. He has also held a series of government positions as the Secretary of State for Tourism and as Deputy-Secretary of State for Economic Development for Rio Grande do Norte. Alongside these executive roles, Renato has sat as either Chairman (C) or Vice-Chairman (VC) of the Board in a variety of institutions: AGN – RN State Development Bank (VC), PotyGás – Natural Gas Distribution Company (VC), RN State Council for Tourism Development (C), RN State Council for Science and Technology Development (VC), SEBRAE – RN (Board Member). Renato has a degree in Business from the UFRN (Brazil) and an MBA from Texas A&M University and WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management (Germany).

Susan is a CIPD qualified HR Generalist, with over 16 years’ HR experience gained within the private sector.

Her experience includes: Analysing global business processes for the implementation of a new HR system; Proactively working alongside managers in order to resolve operational issues including performance, absence management, disciplinary and grievance; Setting up HR Shared Services teams, to centralise the administrative processes and adopt best practices where possible.

She is also a Board Member for the British Irish Trading Alliance (BITA), a non-profit making organisation.