Built on expertise. Shaped by people.
Our Story
Since 1996, Tenos has grown from a specialist fire engineering consultancy into an employee-owned business.
Supporting complex buildings, ambitious projects, and organisations across the UK and beyond.
Much has changed in that time. Our purpose has not. We are here to protect people, apply our expertise responsibly, and help create safer places with greater potential.
Where it began.
A specialist business with a human purpose.
Tenos was established in 1996 with fire engineering at the heart of the business. From the outset, the ambition was not simply to interpret guidance or provide another layer of consultancy.
It was to bring specialist engineering thinking to the built environment, helping clients address complex fire-safety challenges without losing sight of design, functionality, or commercial reality. That focus helped Tenos build relationships with architects, developers, contractors, building owners, operators, and public-sector organisations.
What began as a specialist consultancy has continued to grow in scale, expertise, and reach. The fundamental responsibility behind the work remains the same: to help ensure that people can work, live, and sleep safely from the effects of fire.
The story so far
Progress, built one chapter at a time.
1996 – 2018
Our beginnings. Tenos is established with a specialist focus on fire engineering and a commitment to providing independent, technically informed advice.
Growing expertise. From individual projects to connected support — Tenos expands its capabilities beyond design-stage fire engineering into surveying, fire risk assessment, risk management, advanced analysis, and expert advisory services, enabling the team to support clients across a broader part of the building lifecycle.
A wider reach. Complex buildings, lasting relationships — Tenos’ expertise becomes recognised by leading architectural practices, developers, private businesses, and public-sector organisations, supporting landmark developments, major estates, and long-term client programmes in the UK and internationally.
2019 – Today
A new chapter in ownership. Tenos transfers 66% of its shares into an Employee Ownership Trust, giving employees a meaningful stake in the business and creating a platform for greater participation, shared success, and sustainable long-term growth.
Fully employee-owned. Tenos later completes its transition to 100% employee ownership. Every person within the business now has a stake in its success, while the Employee Ownership Trust helps ensure Tenos continues to be run for the benefit of its current and future employees.
Tenos today. Tenos operates from Manchester, London, Bristol, and Glasgow, bringing together fire engineers, surveyors, consultants, and support teams across the business, continuing to develop its services, attract new expertise, and support clients through an increasingly complex fire-safety and building-safety landscape.
Celebrating 30 years.
Thirty years of people, projects, and progress.
In 2026, Tenos celebrates 30 years of protecting people and advancing complex projects. It is a milestone shaped by far more than dates or numbers.
It belongs to the people who have built their careers here, the clients who have trusted us, the project teams that have invited us to help solve difficult challenges, and the buildings and places that continue to advance our work.
Throughout our anniversary, we will revisit the projects, decisions, relationships, and ideas that have shaped Tenos across three decades — not simply a chance to look back, but an opportunity to recognise what those experiences have taught us and how they can help unlock what comes next.
How Tenos has grown.
Expertise bound by a connected purpose.
Today, our work proudly brings together complementary disciplines across fire safety engineering, strategy, surveying, risk assessment, and advanced engineering, to name but a few.
This connected expertise means we can support a building from its earliest design stages through construction, occupation, assessment, adaptation, and ongoing management.
It also allows our teams to see beyond one isolated issue and understand how design, physical construction, documentation, management, and people influence one another.
Every Tenos milestone has people at its heart.
Projects that shaped us.
Revisit the buildings and technical challenges that have played an important part in the Tenos journey.
Explore Our ProjectsPeople who moved us forward.
Meet the specialists, leaders, graduates, apprentices, and employee owners who have contributed to the business.
Meet Our PeopleIdeas that changed the industry.
Explore the research, guidance, standards, and technical thinking Tenos has helped develop and apply.
Explore Our InsightsWhere are we going?
We're committed to what's next.
Tenos has never grown for growth’s sake. Our ambition is to build a stronger, more capable, and more sustainable consultancy that continues to deliver specialist work, creates meaningful opportunities for its people, and earns the long-term trust of its clients.
Employee ownership gives us the independence to pursue that ambition on our own terms. It allows the people within Tenos to influence the future they are helping to create, while protecting the standards, values, and specialist expertise on which the business was built.
The next chapter will bring new challenges, new people, new thinking, and new opportunities, but its purpose will remain clear: Protecting People. Unlocking Potential.
What could we help you unlock?
Whether you are planning an ambitious development, managing an existing building, or facing a complex fire safety challenge, our specialists can help you find a safe, proportionate, and practical way forward.