As the built environment sector undergoes rapid transformation, new models are emerging to challenge traditional ways of delivering technical services. Tendra Technical Services is one such business.
Here, we sit down with Greg Davies, CEO of Tendra, to explore the thinking behind Tendra’s formation. From addressing gaps in existing service models to responding to the sector’s biggest challenges, the conversation offers insight into its distinctive approach to growth, and how it aims to position itself as a leading force in the UK technical services market.
What was the original vision behind bringing Tendra together, and what gap did you see in the market?
Tendra is underpinned by a clear vision to build a leading UK technical services group for the built environment, bringing together high-quality regional businesses with specialist capability, trusted customer relationships and a shared commitment to service excellence.
There is no business or group within the UK that currently adopts this regionalised approach, and we see this as our true differentiator in the market.
Furthermore, we are also working hard to set ourselves apart from traditional FM providers or engineering services firms through our mindset and approach to how we do business. We want to do things differently and better — whether that is how we support customers, how we empower our teams or how we create opportunities across the group.
Tendra has been built by bringing together established technical services businesses. Why was that the right approach, rather than building organically?
We believe the best ideas are often proven locally first, and our model is about taking what works in one region or business and scaling it intelligently across the group. Rather than stripping out what makes those businesses successful, we want to protect and build on it.
Not only will this approach enable us to achieve our growth objectives at a much faster rate, but it will also ensure this scale is built on strong foundations through well established, high-quality regional businesses able to effectively cross-sell and collaborate with one another.
You’ve spoken about building Tendra into a leading brand in the market. What does that look like in practice and how will you compete with large industry players?
Our overarching objective for Tendra is to create a business with genuine national reach, deep technical capability and the ability to support clients consistently across multiple service lines, while still retaining the agility, culture and entrepreneurial spirit that often gets lost in larger organisations.
Unlike existing larger players, we are committed to preserving local expertise and customer intimacy, while giving each business the scale, systems and opportunities that come from being part of a larger group. For us, it’s about combining the best of both worlds: local excellence with national capability.
A big part of that is creating a more connected operating model. Clients increasingly want joined-up solutions across technical services, compliance, projects, decarbonisation and digital building performance. They do not want fragmented delivery or multiple disconnected suppliers. Our ambition is to build a platform that allows us to deliver those services seamlessly, underpinned by better data, stronger technology and a consistent customer experience across the group.
Ultimately, success for Tendra would mean being recognised as one of the UK's leading technical services groups: trusted by clients, respected by our peers and known for combining national strength with local delivery, technical excellence and a progressive mindset.
What do you think clients are looking for from technical services providers today, and where do traditional models fall short?
We believe that clients today are looking for far more than a supplier who simply delivers against a specification. They increasingly want a partner who understands their wider business objectives, whether that is operational resilience, cost certainty, compliance, occupant experience, or progress towards net zero. They expect technical competence as a given, but what differentiates providers now is the ability to bring insight, innovation and a more strategic perspective.
Traditional models can sometimes fall short because they are often too transactional. Instead, the market is moving towards relationships built on trust, collaboration and shared outcomes. In a more complex and fast-evolving built environment, the providers that succeed will be those that combine strong technical delivery with commercial understanding, digital capability and a genuine commitment to helping clients achieve long-term value.
How do you bring multiple businesses together under one vision without losing what made them successful in the first place?
As we bring businesses into the group, our focus is on building consistency where it matters most, while still respecting the strengths, experience and customer relationships that already exist within each company. Ultimately, we want to both celebrate and leverage what makes each individual business brilliant while creating an integrated, reliable and sophisticated operating model across the group.
At Tendra level, we are building central expertise to support all group companies in areas such as quality, safety, governance and performance. This will give the operating businesses access to broader support, shared capability and a clearer framework for how good looks across the group.
We are also putting in place a more joined-up way of measuring success and quality, so expectations are clear and performance can be tracked consistently. Alongside that, we are creating forums that bring people together to share learning, challenge each other constructively and identify opportunities to improve. Our role at group level is to make sure those lessons are captured, shared and turned into better outcomes, so quality and safety continue to strengthen as Tendra grows.
How is the facilities management and built environment sector changing, and what are businesses still underestimating?
The facilities management and built environment sector is changing rapidly, driven by three major forces: decarbonisation, digitalisation and rising client expectations.
Clients are now asking more of their service partners. They want providers who can help them solve immediate operational challenges while also improving long-term asset performance. This is changing the role of technical services providers from reactive contractors to strategic partners, where expectations focus more on outcomes over tasks.
Technology is accelerating that shift. Better use of data, IoT, and connected asset platforms are creating opportunities to operate buildings more intelligently, improve maintenance strategies and provide customers with greater transparency. It also allows service providers to deliver multiple disciplines in a more joined-up way, creating a clearer picture of performance across an entire estate rather than managing services in silos.
What many businesses still underestimate, however, is the importance of lifecycle thinking. Too often, decisions are still made on upfront cost rather than whole-life value. The cheapest option at the point of procurement can often prove the most expensive over time when reliability, efficiency, carbon performance and maintenance costs are taken into consideration.
What does success look like for Tendra over the next three to five years?
In five years’ time, success for Tendra would mean becoming one of the most respected and recognisable names in the built environment sector, not just because of scale, but because of what we stand for and how we operate.
As a brand, we want to be synonymous with a place people genuinely want to work, a business where culture, opportunity, innovation and high standards come together in a way that attracts and retains great people.
Success would also mean that Tendra is seen as having made a real difference to the sector itself. Not simply by growing, but by helping to set a new standard for how technical services businesses can operate, collaborate and create value. We would want to be recognised for doing things well, thinking differently where it improves outcomes, and building a model that others look to as an example of a more progressive and effective way of working.
Commercially, success would mean being a go-to partner for turnkey technical solutions across the built environment, particularly in technical and engineering installation, service and maintenance. It would mean customers trusting us to deliver quality, reliability and expertise across the full lifecycle of their needs. And, importantly, it would mean creating strong returns for everyone involved in the business, including our investors, our operating companies, our people and our customers. Simply because, we have stayed focused on doing the right things and doing them very
