Socius welcomes Luke Martin to Bristol office

Socius has appointed Luke Martin as Project Manager in Bristol, where he will lead on two of Socius’ flagship projects, Soapworks and St Christopher’s in Bristol.

Based in Bristol, Luke will be focused on leading on the construction of the £175m redevelopment of Soapworks in Old Market which will restore one of Bristol’s landmark buildings and create a new green mixed-use district in the heart of the city, delivering new homes, Grade A workspace, a food hall and public space. He is also directing the planning application for St Christopher's, which is set to deliver the first extra care community in Bristol to deliver homes for older people in partnership with ethical investor FORE Partnership and extra care operator, Amicala.

Luke spent four years at JLL, where he was a Senior Surveyor, with responsibility for delivering a number of high value mixed use and build to rent schemes, including the challenging refurbishment of historic brewery buildings at Finzels Reach in Bristol into office and retail accommodation. Other projects Luke delivered include working with the University of Bath to make the campus safe and ready for the 20/21 academic year and managing and the redevelopment of a former Avon Fire Authority headquarters in the centre of Bristol, comprising a 100,00 sq ft office building and circa 300 build to rent and affordable apartments.

Barry Jessup, Managing Director of Socius, commented: “Luke is joining at an incredibly exciting time for Socius as we work to bring forward our near £1bn pipeline of urban regeneration projects across Bristol, Brighton, Cambridge and Milton Keynes.

“Luke brings with him a fantastic track record of leading thriving mixed-use developments and he will be a great asset to Socius, working closely with our experienced team to create and reshape places that deliver tangible local, social and environmental impact to communities. He has a pivotal role over the coming months working on developing our ambitious regeneration of Soapworks and for progressing our plans for St Christopher’s in Bristol in addition to enabling us to develop our on the ground relationships and connections in Bristol.”