As brothers and business partners, Paul, Gary and Mike Martin are the driving forces behind Martin Group. Having grown up in a family of entrepreneurs, they developed a passion for business from an early age, launching small ventures while still at school.
Martin Group invests in and develops large-scale residential and commercial real estate, as well as operating a wide range of businesses, including hotels, shopping centres, food production, manufacturing, construction, car parks and technology platforms, as well as travel. The group operates throughout Britain, Ireland and, more recently, has expanded into continental Europe.
What vision/light bulb moment prompted you to start up in business?
Our mum and her family owned hairdressing salons, and our dad and uncle built and ran a construction business, so business was discussed around the kitchen table constantly. It felt natural to follow the same path and, from the age of 10, we were encouraged to start small ventures, from grass-cutting and car-boot sales to producing and selling Christmas calendars.
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What was your back-to-the-wall moment?
The financial crisis from 2008-12 fundamentally changed our business. At the time, we were almost entirely focused on real estate, so the downturn forced us to rethink everything. We basically had to start over again.
Rather than standing still, we reinvented ourselves and relocated from Northern Ireland to London in search of new opportunities. That experience taught us the importance of diversification, resilience and never becoming complacent.
To what extent does your business trade internationally?
Today, most of our activity is across Britain and Ireland. However, as we’ve expanded into new sectors over recent years, we’re increasingly working across other markets in Europe.
We still feel we’re at the beginning of that journey and see considerable opportunity to build on it. In particular, within our travel business, we’re looking to establish a presence in the Americas over the next six months.
How much has your company invested in AI and how has it impacted on the performance of the business?
We’re early but active. We’ve taken a ground-up approach, auditing every role to find where AI can take out repetitive work and building it into daily operations. However, a core part of our business is relationships and conversation, which sits outside what AI can do. AI does allow our teams to free up their time, so they can focus on what drives the business forward.
What is your greatest business achievement to date?
Having built a diversified group that employs around 1,000 people is something we’re incredibly proud of. Equally important has been creating a talented central leadership team that can support businesses across multiple sectors. Seeing people develop careers within the group, while continuing to grow and diversify the business, has been our greatest achievement.
What were the best and the worst pieces of advice you received when starting out?
Two principles have stayed with us throughout our journey: always think carefully about protecting the downside, and surround yourself with capable, experienced people who challenge your thinking.
The least helpful advice has generally come from people whose incentives weren’t fully aligned with ours. Particularly in property, there can be pressure to proceed with a transaction regardless of whether or not it stacks up. We’ve learned that patience and discipline are often more valuable than simply doing the next deal.
What piece of advice you would offer to an entrepreneur starting out?
Build a great team that you trust, then spend your time on what truly moves the business forward. And stay hungry and humble.
