A note from the LionHeart chair

2026-02-04

More than 150 people a day.

It’s a figure that really sticks out for me - how many different people LionHeart’s staff were supporting, on average, on any given day during 2024/25. Surveyors, just like me and you, or their loved ones, being supported through any of those challenges that life can sometimes throw our way: ill health, bereavement, loss of income, mental health issues, problems at home or at work.

As a Fellow of RICS, being chair of the board of LionHeart is a position I am immensely proud to hold - a charity dedicated to supporting my fellow professionals, practically, emotionally or financially, when they need it most.

Since 2018, we’ve seen demand for that support more than double. During our last financial year (ending in March 2025), we approved over £420,000 in grants to help those in financial crisis, and provided thousands of hours of support, advice and counselling. We expect the figures for this year to follow a similar pattern, and look forward to sharing the full picture with our supporters in due course.

It’s a privilege to play a part in making a real difference to those people - just as the surveyors who first established an independent charity to ‘look after their own’ intended, back in 1899. And it’s hugely rewarding to hear those individual stories where we know that the right support, at the right time, has helped to make a difficult time that little bit easier.

It has been a busy start to 2026, and I know that both the staff team and my colleagues on the board look forward to continuing that work – supporting the surveying community – throughout the year. We also look forward to continually developing that support, and continuing to better understand the needs of the profession and the people within it. In due course LionHeart will be running a survey focusing on mental health in surveying and your wellbeing, which I urge you all to complete, as we look at our current provision of support and identify any gaps.

We also look forward to welcoming fresh faces and skills to our board later in the year, with opportunities for both trustees and associate board members due to open. If, reading this, you think this is something that you would like to be a part of, please get in touch.

Like many charities, increased demand for support has come against a backdrop of increased costs and falling donations.

I end by thanking those of you who have chosen to make your suggested £25 annual donation to LionHeart if you’ve recently renewed your RICS subs. If you weren’t in a position to donate at the time, or perhaps your employer pays your subs for you, please consider donating online now. £2 a month would help us to keep helping our own, now and in the future.

Philippa Sampson-Bancroft FRICS has worked in housing, development and regeneration throughout her public sector career, qualifying as a Planning and Development surveyor in 2016 and achieving FRICS in 2024. After serving as trustee and then vice chair on the LionHeart board, she took on the role of chair in summer 2024.

A note from the LionHeart chair

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