About
Obsidian Strategic is a land promotion company that works in partnership with landowners across England to unlock the potential of their land. Obsidian seek to maximise value through the planning process whilst also being wholly committed to creating a positive legacy through our developments. We believe that a truly successful scheme is underpinned by strong design principles, community benefits and creating a genuine sense of place that people will be proud to call home. The business’ ethos is derived from our parent company, Martin’s Properties, a third-generation family property company established in 1946 whose vision centres around creating a better world for future generations.
The Board
Polly Troughton
Chief Executive Officer
Polly joined Obsidian Strategic as Chief Executive Officer in January 2025. Polly has more than 30 years of development experience. Prior to joining Obsidian, Polly was Managing Director at St Modwen Properties a housing and commercial strategic land, developer and regeneration business so is well placed to navigate sites and the business through the land promotion process to release value for our landowners.
Tom Martin
Executive Chairman
Tom Martin is the co-founder of Obsidian Strategic. He is Executive Chairman of Martins Properties, a property investment and development company operating in prime locations throughout London and the South of England. Prior to his current role he held a number of senior positions within both national property consultants and one of the largest independent providers of affordable housing in the UK.
David Brown
Board Member
David graduated from Christ’s College, Cambridge with a degree in Computer Science, and then completed his professional training as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG. David spent 17 years in senior finance roles at Greene King, before progressing to CFO roles at property company Market Tech, restaurateur Byron Burger and most recently media business Bonhill Group.
The Team

Ben Johnson
Planning Director

Iain Welsh
Land Director

Stephanie Walker
Associate Director of Planning

Peter Ryan
Land Director – Northern Region

Anna Page
Senior Land Manager

Jake Sprague
Senior Land Manager

Anthony Madden
Senior Land Manager