What DDS (International) Ltd does

DDS (International) Limited is a privately held UK-based health and safety consultancy headquartered in Sittingbourne, Kent, with a regional office in Santa Ponsa, Spain. Founded in 2011 and operating under the brand 'DDS International' with the consumer-facing tagline 'staylegal', the firm delivers integrated compliance services across fire safety, health and safety, food safety, and first aid to UK and international clients. Its service portfolio combines on-site professional consultancy (fire risk assessments, audits, safety surveys, dwelling surveys, evacuation planning, and emergency response plans) with two proprietary technology assets: PYRAMID™, an award-winning cloud-based online risk management system that consolidates risk assessments, incident reports, training records, audit preparation, and regulatory documentation into a single portal; and the eLearning Zone, a web-based learning application that automates employee training management. PYRAMID includes differentiated features such as the iText auto-completion engine, drag-and-drop photo upload with risk-assessment cloning, FRAPT (UK Home Office Fire Risk Assessment Prioritisation Tool) integration, and PDF audit-preparation reports.

The company monetises through three distinct revenue streams: professional-services fees for on-site and remote consultancy, recurring annual subscriptions for PYRAMID software access, and one-time fees for accredited training courses (Fire Warden, First Aid, Food Safety Levels 1-3, COSHH, Manual Handling, Mental Health Awareness, Allergen Awareness, HACCP, Legionella) delivered both at its Sittingbourne training centre and online, supplemented by a DVD e-commerce shop. The customer base is vertically diverse — social housing providers and landlords (a primary segment under the Fire Safety Act 2021 / Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022), retail (including a Fortune 500 household brand), hospitality and food service, sports and leisure (Crystal Palace FC, Bristol City FC, Celtic FC, Stadium MK, Umbro), healthcare, education (British Library), local government (Epping Forest District Council), energy (Brigg Renewable Energy Plant), and warehousing. The go-to-market is sales-led and event-driven, supported by content marketing through the staylegal.net blog, social channels, email newsletters, and high-visibility sports-sector partnerships.

Differentiators include NSI (National Security Inspectorate) approval for Life Safety Fire Risk Assessments under BAFE SP205, four ISO certifications (9001, 45001, 22000, 14001), RQF-accredited training, and ESG positioning anchored by a Net Zero by 2025 target and the Greenly Silver Award. Ownership appears founder/management-held with no disclosed institutional investors, no funding rounds, and no parent entity.

Name

DDS (International) Ltd

Legal name

DDS (International) Limited

Website

https://staylegal.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

DDS (International) Limited is a UK-based health and safety consultancy delivering fire safety, food safety, first aid, and compliance services to enterprises across retail, hospitality, sports, social housing, and government, supported by its proprietary PYRAMID™ risk management platform and eLearning Zone.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Health and Safety Compliance Consulting

NAICS

Environmental Consulting Services (54162), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (541690)

akta.pro primary industry

Process Safety & Major Hazard Risk Management (PSM) (BPAHAJAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Process Safety Management (PSM) & High-Hazard Operations (EDABAEAD)

Keywords

• Fire safety compliance
• Health safety consulting
• Risk management software
• Food safety training
• Compliance management systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Sittingbourne

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Health and Safety Consulting Services: Core consulting engagements providing fire safety, health and safety, food safety, and first aid advisory services to businesses and organisations. Services include fire risk assessments, audits, safety surveys, and ongoing compliance support. Delivered by qualified consultants either on-site or remotely.
2. PYRAMID™ Risk Management Software: Annual subscription access to the PYRAMID online risk management platform, providing clients with a centralised compliance management system. Includes access to risk assessment tools, audit preparation reports, incident management, training records, and document storage.
3. Training Courses (Open and Online): Revenue from both in-person open training courses held at the Sittingbourne training centre and online eLearning courses. Course topics include fire warden, first aid, food safety, health and safety induction, COSHH, manual handling, and more. Prices vary per course and are often subject to promotional discounts.
4. Safety Training DVDs: Sale of professionally produced safety training DVDs covering fire safety, health and safety in retail, workplace safety, and sector-specific topics such as fire safety in sports and leisure centres.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

DDS International provides highly effective management, consultancy, and support systems for legal compliance in the UK and internationally, specialising in fire safety, health and safety, food safety, and first aid. The firm delivers consulting services including risk assessments, audits, and incident management, supported by its proprietary PYRAMID™ online risk management platform and the eLearning Zone automated training platform. The offering is rounded out by accredited open training courses (classroom and online) and a range of safety training DVDs.

Product overview

DDS International offers a unified software platform (PYRAMID™) supplemented by add-on modules and training services. PYRAMID™ is the core online risk management system that provides a single portal for managing fire safety, health and safety, and food safety compliance. The platform integrates with the eLearning Zone for training management and supports various report types including fire risk assessments, audits, incident reports, and weekly safety checks. Training courses (Fire Safety, Health and Safety, Food Safety, First Aid) and Fire Safety Training DVDs are sold as complementary add-ons to the software platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PYRAMID™: Online Risk Management System for fire and health and safety compliance management
• eLearning Zone

Products and services

• Fire Safety Consulting Services Fire safety consultancy including fire risk assessments, dwelling surveys, fire door checks and surveys, fire extinguisher surveys, evacuation procedures, fire strategy reports, occupancy level reviews, and BAFE SP205-aligned Life Safety Fire Risk Assessments delivered by NSI-approved assessors to UK and international organisations.
• Health and Safety Consulting Services Comprehensive health and safety management consulting including audits, safety surveys, risk assessments, incident management, weekly safety checks, and ongoing compliance support delivered by qualified consultants to UK and international organisations.
• Food Safety Consulting Services Food safety consultancy covering HACCP implementation, allergen information compliance under EU Food Information for Consumers Regulation, food safety audits, allergen awareness, alleged food poisoning, and food complaint handling for hospitality and food manufacturing operators.
• PYRAMID™ Online Risk Management System Award-winning proprietary online portal that consolidates fire safety, health and safety, and food safety compliance documentation into a single platform accessible to clients and DDS consultants, supporting risk assessments, audits, incident reports, training records, weekly safety checks, audit preparation reports, and direct FRAPT submission data.
• eLearning Zone Online Training Software Web-based learning application that automates and streamlines the management of an organisation's health and safety training needs, supporting course assignment, employee training compliance tracking, and integration with PYRAMID™ training records.
• Fire Safety Training Courses Accredited classroom and online training courses covering Basic Fire Safety Awareness, Fire Warden, Fire Marshal, Fire Safety Induction, Live Fire Safety Practical, and Level 1/2 Awards in the Principles of Fire Safety (RQF) for workplace fire wardens and safety responsible persons.
• Health and Safety Training Courses Accredited online and classroom training courses covering Asbestos Awareness, COSHH, Manual Handling, Mental Health Awareness, Legionella Management, Working at Height, COVID-19 Safe Workplaces, and the Level 2 Award in Health and Safety (RQF).
• Food Safety Training Courses Accredited online training courses covering Level 1 and Level 2 Food Safety (RQF) for Retail, Manufacturing, and Catering, Supervising Food Safety Level 3, Introduction to HACCP Level 2, and Allergen Awareness for hospitality and food service staff.
• First Aid Training Courses Accredited classroom and online first aid training covering Emergency First Aid at Work, the 3-day First Aid at Work course, and the Emergency First Aid at Work Online Annual Refresher for workplace first aiders.
• Fire Safety Training DVDs Professionally produced training DVDs covering General Fire Safety Awareness, Fire Safety in Hospitals, Fire Safety in Retail, and Fire Safety in Sports and Leisure Centres, sold through the online shop with video previews and promotional discounts.

Quantifiable outcome

• RoSPA Award achievement for a major household brand client following implementation of health and safety management system
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Crystal Palace Football ClubcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 26 May 2023DDS International joined Crystal Palace FC as an Associate Partner, providing fire safety, health and safety, and food safety consultancy services. This collaboration with one of the most recognised football clubs in the English Premier League presents an exceptional opportunity for brand visibility and cross-promotion of safety compliance services.
• Palace for Life FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 November 2022DDS International became a Business Partner of the Palace for Life Foundation, the official charity of Crystal Palace F.C. The Foundation uses the power of football and the Palace brand to change the lives of young people across south London, working with over 15,000 people each year. The partnership supports the Foundation's mission and the Made in South London campaign aiming to raise £1 million over three years.
• Kent Invicta Chamber of CommerceminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 4 August 2014DDS International partnered with the Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce to offer members a saving of 20% on fire risk assessment costs, providing preferential pricing to chamber members and expanding market reach through the chamber network.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Ideagen: UK-listed (now private under Hg) GRC/EHS software vendor covering risk, audit, quality and H&S. Adjacent competitor to PYRAMID for mid-market and enterprise compliance buyers, particularly in regulated industries.
• Peninsula Group: Large UK/international employment, H&S and HR consultancy with BrightHR software platform. Competes with DDS across H&S consulting and increasingly through SaaS, but at materially greater scale and broader HR scope.
• Croner (Wolters Kluwer): Long-established UK H&S, HR and employment law consultancy now within Wolters Kluwer, combining advisory with compliance software. Overlaps DDS across fire safety, H&S and training but operates at significantly larger scale and broader scope.

Direct peers

• Astutis: UK-based health, safety and environmental training and consultancy provider with IOSH and NEBOSH portfolio. Direct peer in the training-led segment of DDS's offering, including open, online and corporate delivery.
• Ellis Whittam: UK H&S, employment law and fire safety specialist serving care homes, schools and SMEs. Directly comparable vertical focus and service model, especially in regulated end markets DDS targets.
• WorkNest: UK H&S, HR and employment law consultancy combining on-site advisory with an online compliance platform (BrightSafe). Highly comparable to DDS in mixing consulting with software and accredited training.
• Citation: UK-based H&S, HR and fire safety consultancy serving SMEs and mid-market with a mix of on-site advisory and compliance software. Closest direct analogue to DDS in services breadth, vertical coverage and UK regulatory positioning.

Emerging players

• iHASCO: UK-based online H&S, HR and wellbeing eLearning provider. Comparable to DDS's eLearning Zone and online training catalogue, with a stronger pure-play SaaS/content model but narrower consultancy layer.
• SafetyCulture: Australia-headquartered EHS/quality operations platform (iAuditor) used globally. Competes with PYRAMID on compliance documentation, inspections and training, but at venture-scale and with broader mobile-first functionality.
• EcoOnline: Nordic-headquartered EHS, chemical management and workforce safety SaaS platform. Competes with PYRAMID for multi-site compliance buyers, with deeper chemical/COSHH workflows relevant to DDS's H&S and food safety customers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/staylegal
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC_bs2jS_sg4HE8ma2s5DUxw
• Facebookfacebook.com/ddsinternational
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dds-international

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about DDS (International) Ltd