Martin Buck

Martin is a Senior Adviser within Agilia. He has over 35 years of UK and international experience at the forefront of the development and execution of major projects and provides strategic advice to owners, clients and project organisations around the world. Martin founded Watling Fosse Limited in 2016 providing strategic advice to a diverse portfolio of project clients including, the SRO of the Houses of Parliament Renovation and Renewal programme, development of an enterprise model for a new East-West Railway project, initiation of the New Hospitals Programme and Highways England’s CIPs programme.  Martin also worked as part of the Department for Transport team to initiate and develop Crossrail International to promote UK capability and provide strategic advisory services internationally.     

Martin led the structuring and funding of the £16Bn Crossrail project in London, UK, Europe’s largest infrastructure project.  The funding package included £800m of property development and developer contributions, a form of value capture now being replicated by many international authorities. As Commercial Director he was responsible for the procurement of more than £10bn of supply chain contracts and established the Crossrail Learning Legacy, capturing the lessons Iearned for the benefit of the wider industry and later incorporated into the UK Government’s Infrastructure and Projects Authority’s (IPA’s) Project Initiation Route Map which has seen wide industry adoption. As a member of the HM Treasury Infrastructure Client Group Martin led the workstream known as Project 13, to produce a blueprint document for applying an ‘enterprise approach’ to future infrastructure projects. 

His extensive knowledge of project development embraces several pioneering transport schemes throughout London and the Southeast of England, notably the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) Lewisham Extension, a flagship Private Finance Initiative (PFI) project; and the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (High Speed 1) between London and the Channel Tunnel. Martin is currently advising the project company responsible for promoting the East West Rail project between Oxford and Cambridge.  

Martin was a founder member of Her Majesty’s Treasury Task Force (TTF), established to ‘reinvigorate’ and centrally coordinate private finance in public sector investment throughout the UK. He was later a management board member of TTF’s successor, Partnerships UK plc, which took the lead role in promoting PFI and other public-private partnership (PPP) variants throughout the UK and internationally. 

Martin is a member of the Institute of Civil Engineers’ Independent Assurance Group which provides assurance to mega-programmes such as the £80Bn High Speed 2 in the UK.  Martin undertakes assurance reviews for the UK Government’s Infrastructure and Projects Authority and has led and participated in independent reviews for other public authorities such as Highways England, Transport for London and Sellafield.  

Martin is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.