Dominic Martin is Managing Director at CompassRock International, a firm that provides asset management and property management services to the rental housing sectors globally. Dominic has 18 years in the real estate sector, focusing initially on commercial property and then into the residential sector. His areas of expertise include operational management, investment, development viability, valuation and Government policy. He is a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Dominic is also Managing Director at Global Apartment Advisors (GAA), a consultancy firm focused on the rental housing sectors.

Previous experience:

Head of PRS Management – Annington Homes: Leading the company’s new expansion into this sector, his primary role was the oversight of the delivery the company’s first BTR investment, combining construction oversight of the development, as well as formulation of the operational strategy for the property, including leading the appointment of the third-party management team. He contributed to the review and underwrite of new development sites, engagement with new delivering partners, as well as supporting the management of the longer term residential business.

UK Business Development & Operations Director – Atlas Residential: This was a dual role that focused initially on leading the formation of the in-house operational business for the first two investments in Birmingham and Southampton, supporting recruitment of onsite staff and forming relationships with leading suppliers for the properties. The second part of the role was the building of the company’s third-party property management platform, drawing on the parent company’s US residential management expertise and collateral in Texas and Florida.

Director, Operations & Strategy – Westrock/PLATFORM_: Dominic led the formation of Westrock’s BTR management business ‘PLATFORM_’ for their first five sites in Bracknell, Crawley, Bedford, Exeter and Stevenage. This role included the formation of the brand, appointment of third-party managers and other suppliers. The role included third-party management appointments, branding of the business and utility supplier appointments and overseeing the marketing, leasing and revenue management of the apartments. Dominic also supported the investment strategy of the company, from direct management of valuations, investor engagement for the portfolio disposal and underwriting for new development acquisitions.

UK Government, Communities & Local Government Department – ‘PRS Taskforce’: The Taskforce’s remit was to help promote the Government’s Build-to-Rent and Debt Guarantee initiatives and establish a formal 'institutional grade' residential investment asset class for the country. This included direct support to the HCA in auditing applications and direct engagement with banks, investors, developers and local authorities. In particular, Dominic led industry initiatives on viability, data collection and valuation. He was also involved in Government engagement of the international investor leads via the Embassy and Consulate network.

Associate Director, Development & Investment – CBRE: Dominic’s time at CBRE was split between the Development Investment team and his initial role in the Public Sector Development department. In the former, he led the securing of the Akelius instruction for the company, helping this Swedish investor build its UK residential platform. The team and Dominic worked with Aviva, Quintain, Argent and CBRE GI in their early PRS/BTR strategies. He also worked on two large-scale mixed-used projects in Cambridge and Chelmsford. For the latter department, Dominic worked with local authorities, as well as the Government, across numerous public sector instructions. This included the Housing Corporation’s Shared Equity Competition and English Partnerships’ First Time Buyer Initiative.

Graduate/Surveyor, Valuation, Development Consultancy – Drivers Jonas: As a graduate surveyor, Dominic rotated between the Commercial Valuation, Development Consultancy and Commercial Property Management departments over two years.

Dominic has held the following positions:

• Member of the IPF Special Interest Group focusing on residential investment.

• Member of the BPF Build-to-Rent sub-committee.

• Board Member of the UKAA.

• Member of UKAA Research & Policy Committee (previously Chair).

Dominic has a strong understanding of the residential investment and operational market through 13 years of direct experience, which has included extensive travels across UK and the US, experience across a variety of housing types and includes direct writing of national housing policy. Combined with his commercial real estate routes, he sees this asset class through the investment prism, focusing on maximising rents first, as well as appreciating the interrelationship between strong customer service and resident retention.

Dominic is a leading industry figure involved in various industry bodies, driving new initiatives and author of several industry research publications, including the IPF BTR Hurdles and IPF B2R Viability papers, as well as to both ULI ‘Build-to-Rent’ Guides. He led a commission into the review of industry metrics for the IPF in 2016 and guided the RICS to convert their historic valuation ‘information paper’ into formal Red Book Guidance in 2018. He has spoken at numerous industry conferences and events over the last seven years.

He became Chartered in 2005, having completed a MSc degree in Real Estate at Oxford Brookes and, prior to that, a BA (Hons) degree in Geography at the University of Southampton.