Meet the team

I am Mike Cowley and for my sins, I am Managing Director of Ashmore Surveyors having founded the company in 2012 and having previously been self-employed since 1993.

I’m still just the right side of 60 but I have over 40 years’ experience in the profession having joined my first firm as a Pupil Surveyor in Sheffield in 1983.

My Surveying Degree was done at Trent Polytechnic, Nottingham and this was a part-time degree which meant that I worked whilst studying. That means that I came out with a degree with five years more experience than other graduates. I qualified as a Chartered Surveyor in 1991.

Speedway has always been a passion of mine and I have several speedway bikes which are currently being kept warm in my shed although I’m probably going to cut back on riding, looking to the future. I’m not really built for it and I don’t bounce as well as I did, but I’m now enjoying other hobbies including modelmaking and restoration, and of course, working.

I’m very happily married (nearly 33 years) with 2 grown-up daughters and three grandchildren and thankfully they are starting to take up more of my time.

As regards my attitude to my work, the day is there to be enjoyed and we do not take ourselves too seriously. However, we are very proud of our professional approach and always putting our client’s interests above all others by not being constrained by established ways of doing things.

I particularly enjoy my role as an Independent Valuation Expert and I think that with 40 years under my belt, I am just about ready to be classed as an Expert.

I’m very proud of the team at Ashmore Surveyors, both my co-director and former Trainee Surveyor Alex Moore, and our office manager Louise Jones who looks after her ‘boys’ wonderfully and constantly keeps us laughing, but she’s so lovely with Clients and nothing is too much trouble.

I was born in Nuneaton and grew up in Earl Shilton and Barwell, the youngest of five siblings and step-siblings. I completed my GCSE’s and A-levels at John Cleveland College in Hinckley, before moving to Stoke-on-Trent to study Chemistry and Maths for my Undergraduate Degree at Keele University. After leaving University, I completed a remote Masters Degree in Surveying (Real Estate) from Northumbria University, before becoming a fully qualified Chartered Surveyor and RICS Registered Valuer.

I grew up with property in the blood as my parents started an Estate Agency when I was 14 years old, sparking my interest in housing. I am married with a young family and we share our home with our cat Peanut and Springer Spaniel Kylo. 

Outside of work, I have an interest in sports, mainly football but I am also a big fan of American sports, both basketball and NFL. I enjoy watching NFL games at Wembley and have been to watch NBA games when they were previously hosted in London. My true love is of Leicester City, however. 

I enjoy working at Ashmore Surveyors, it has been great to initially learn from, and now work alongside Mike as co-Directors since 2021. The working atmosphere at Ashmore Surveyors is always a lot of fun, we work hard and are a good team, but we can also have a laugh, which makes the days more enjoyable.