Roger Southam

Roger Southam BSc (Hons) FRICS MIRPM (born 29 June 1962) is a British qualified chartered surveyor and managing agent, he features regularly on property and consumer TV programmes as well in national newspaper.

Roger graduated from Trent Polytechnic with a Bachelor of Science degree (Hons) in Urban Estate Surveying in 1984. Having worked as an asset manager and senior development surveyor, Roger established his own company, Chainbow, in 1989. Initially Chainbow was founded as a property investment company, specialising in shopping centre and mixed-use asset management. In 2006, it moved into residential block management.

In 2016, Roger was appointed Director in Savills' Property Management team.

Roger is a regular panellist for leading organisations’ advisory boards and committees including:

• RICS Transparency Working Group (TWG), which is currently examining property professionals’ transparency in charging fees and commissions
• Bank of England’s London Chamber of Commerce’s SME Panel, commenting and advising on economical and financial affects to small and medium enterprises
• HM Revenue & Customs’ Administrative Burdens Advisory Group, providing advice and comment on how administration can be reduced to help businesses file accounts more efficiently
• Department of Communities and Local Government’s Regulation of Managing Agents Task Force, commenting on why managing agents should be regulated for the benefit of homeowners and residents.

In 1992 Roger became a Freeman of the City of London and a Liveryman in the Worshipful Company of Chartered Surveyors. In 2005, Roger was appointed as Chairman of Chartered Surveyors Training Trust, a charity that supports school leavers' vocation into the surveying field.

Roger has increasingly become known as a consumer and leaseholder advocate through his industry and Government lobbying campaign to license managing agents. Roger aims to bring about industry change to make managing agents more accountable and protect the rights of homeowners and leaseholders.

In the lead up to the 2010 UK election, Roger’s campaign ran alongside the work of groups such as the Campaign Against Retired Leaseholder Exploitation (CARLEX), Property Standards Board (PBS) and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyor (RICS).

Roger has been a regular columnist for London newspapers The Docklands and industry publication Shopping Centre. He has also made several guest appearances on Channel Four’s Property Ladder, ITV’s Tonight with Trevor McDonald, BBC News (TV), ITN and Sky News as well as BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours. Roger provides weekly comment on his own blog as well as on Property Week’s blogs.