The partnership secures investment for FPA's research and testing work while linking it to Certek's expanding built environment portfolio.

The Fire Protection Association (FPA) has joined Certek Group, a move the organisation says will support future investment in its fire safety research, training and testing services. Terms were not disclosed.

The FPA is the UK's longstanding fire safety body, providing independent research, testing and training from its Oxfordshire head office and Gloucestershire testing laboratory for over 75 years. It reports no public financials, operating on a not for profit basis.

Certek Group is a London based testing, inspection, certification and compliance (TICC) provider founded in 2024, with over 1,500 staff spanning health sciences, built environment, asset integrity and compliance. It secured £170 million in funding from Macquarie Capital Principal Finance in February 2026.

PartB, already within Certek's portfolio, is a fire engineering consultancy operating across the UK and Republic of Ireland, offering fire testing and expert witness services. Financials are not publicly disclosed.

Advisors: None mentioned.

The move reflects a structural shift in UK fire safety compliance, not a cyclical uptick in demand.

Legislation following the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, alongside the Building Safety Regulator's Gateway Programme, has made documented fire testing and certification a legal requirement rather than discretionary spend, according to UL Solutions.

For the FPA, the deal secures capital while preserving the independence underpinning RISCAuthority, its insurer funded research programme. For Certek, absorbing a recognised authority strengthens its built environment division and its stated ambition to lead UK fire TICC services.

The UK TIC market remains dominated by Intertek, SGS and Bureau Veritas, though niche consolidation continues, with Element's purchase of ISS Inspection Services cited as a recent comparable by Mordor Intelligence.

Rival consolidators Marlowe Group and Mitie have pursued similar buy-and-build strategies in fire safety compliance, reinforcing the view that this demand is structural, according to AMPM Group.

PartB's Irish operations give Certek a route to extend the model beyond the UK as building safety scrutiny rises.

Whether this becomes a template for absorbing independent sector bodies, or remains bespoke to an existing partner in PartB, will determine how much of the compliance driven growth independent associations capture on their own terms.

Source: International Fire and Safety Journal / UL Solutions / Mordor Intelligence / AMPM Group