If you want to supply Cadent Gas, register on the Achilles Utilities Vendor Database (UVDB), because Cadent says most of its purchases require it (Cadent's supplier page). For some work Cadent also asks for proof of health and safety, quality, environmental and corporate social responsibility standards, and a higher level of assurance through the Achilles Verify process.
Registration makes you eligible. It does not make anyone buy. The work itself comes through a few routes: Cadent's dynamic markets for categories such as mains replacement, public tenders, a separate registration for firms that lay gas infrastructure, and the delivery partners who buy the packages underneath the network.
Ofgem counts 8 gas distribution networks in Great Britain, owned by 4 groups: Cadent, SGN, Northern Gas Networks and Wales & West Utilities (Ofgem's network map). Each owner runs its own supplier process, so check each one's supplier page, but the buying logic below holds for all four.
One scope note. This article covers gas distribution, the regional pipes that carry gas to homes and businesses. Gas transmission, the national high-pressure system run by National Gas, sits under its own price control and has its own buyers (Ofgem's RIIO-3 final determinations publish a separate file for it).
Which UK gas networks are you actually selling to?
Four owners. That is the whole top of the market. This small buyer set changes how you plan coverage, because every wasted message lands on someone you will need again next year.
| Network owner | Networks it operates (Ofgem) | How I would assign it |
|---|---|---|
| Cadent | East of England, North London, North West, West Midlands | One account owner for the group, with regional sub-lists if you only deliver in some of those areas |
| SGN | Scotland, Southern | One account owner. SGN appealed through two licensed companies, Scotland Gas Networks and Southern Gas Networks, so split the list by where your crews can work |
| Northern Gas Networks | Northern | One rep |
| Wales & West Utilities | Wales and West | One rep |
The rule behind that table is simple. I divide territories so that no two people on a team ever reach the same buyer.
With four owners, two reps writing to the same Cadent category manager in the same month is not extra coverage. You look disorganized before you have sent a quote.
Each network also needs its own message. The regions differ, the delivery partners differ, and your references will rarely be spread evenly across all four. If your strongest utility job sits in the North West, that is a Cadent story. It means very little to a buyer in Cardiff.
The delivery partners under each network go on the same map, with the network owner above them. Before you build it, read what to do when your outbound market is small, because this market will punish a list padded with lookalike companies that never buy gas work.
What do gas networks spend money on under RIIO-GD3?
RIIO-GD3 is the gas distribution part of Ofgem's RIIO-3 price control. It lasts five years, beginning 1 April 2026 and ending 31 March 2031 (Ofgem final determinations).
The money is large. Ofgem approved £28 billion of investment for the energy networks in its RIIO-3 decisions, and said £17.8 billion of it goes to maintaining Britain's gas networks (Ofgem press release, 4 December 2025).
For a supplier, the price control matters for one reason. It sets the revenue each network can collect for five years, and the work plan sits on top of that revenue. Packages are far easier to scope once that money is settled.
If you want the numbers for one network, Ofgem's decision page publishes a separate final determinations file for each of the four owners, plus one for gas distribution as a whole. Read the one for the network you are targeting. It tells you what that owner was funded to do, which is the closest thing to a buying plan you will get in public.
Here is how the main work areas map to supplier types:
| Work area | Who sells into it |
|---|---|
| Mains replacement and associated works | Civils and utility contractors, reinstatement, traffic management, plant hire |
| Pipe, steel line and fittings | Manufacturers and distributors of pipe and fittings |
| Property | Facilities, maintenance and property service firms |
| New connections and alterations | Utility infrastructure providers and connections contractors |
| Survey, data and systems | Survey firms, engineering consultants, software and IT services |
The first three rows match the categories Cadent runs through its dynamic markets, which come up again below. If you run a construction or civil engineering firm, the first row is where you start.
Who decides on contractors at a gas distribution network?
Not the board. A gas network's board signs off the business plan. It does not pick the reinstatement subcontractor for one region.
At the network, the decision usually sits with the people who own a category or a program:
- Head of procurement, for the route and the rules
- Category manager, for the supplier choice inside one category
- Asset manager or program manager, for what the work needs and whether your firm can deliver it
At a tier 1 delivery partner, the people who buy packages are different:
- Contracts manager
- Commercial manager
- Package manager
When a founder asks me how to get into this market, I start with their past projects and who really made the decision on each one.
Do that before you open a lead tool. The answer tells you which of the titles above to put on the list.
I use the real titles for the niche, never a generic "manager" search. In a market of four owners, each wrong name costs you a real slot. Get this wrong and no copy will save it. The list is the problem, not the email, and here that is even more true than usual.
How do Cadent and the other networks buy suppliers?
Cadent spells out its starting point. It uses the Achilles UVDB when looking for potential suppliers, and most of its purchases require suppliers to be registered there. It buys against four goals: competitively, economically, ethically and efficiently (Cadent supplier page).
On top of UVDB, Cadent may ask for:
- Health and safety evidence
- Quality evidence
- Environmental capabilities
- Corporate social responsibility evidence
- A higher level of assurance through Achilles Verify
Cadent also publishes a Supplier Code of Conduct that sets out the expectations it wants to extend into its supply chain. Read it before you bid.
Next come Cadent's dynamic markets, run through Constructionline. Constructionline lists schemes for mains replacement and associated works, steel line and pipe fittings, and property. You register interest, keep your profile complete and up to date, and submit valid references for the work categories you want. Constructionline says it assesses applications within 10 working days (Constructionline's Cadent page).
That reference requirement matters. A blank profile gets you nowhere.
Firms that lay gas infrastructure themselves have their own route. Cadent says third parties must register with it before laying gas infrastructure that transfers to Cadent, then submit requests through its IGT and UIP web portal or by email (Cadent third-party services). For connections contractors, that registration is a precondition, not a formality.
Should you go direct or through delivery partners?
Here are the decision rules I would use.
Go direct to the network when you sell something the network buys as its own category: pipe and fittings, property services, a scheme listed on its dynamic markets, or a specialist service with a named category manager. Start with UVDB, then the dynamic market or the tender, then outreach to the category manager.
Go through delivery partners when your work sits inside someone else's package: reinstatement, traffic management, plant, survey support, specialist labor. The network may never buy you directly. The contracts manager at its delivery partner might, this quarter.
Start from your existing customers when you have no gas references yet. If you already work for water companies, electricity networks or the contractors that serve them, those references travel. Mirror them into gas. I always check who a supplier already serves before choosing targets, then look for companies like them.
Answer public tenders when you already qualify and the scope fits your delivery capacity. Tenders are where the decision gets formalized. Pipeline gets built before the notice appears.
Leave intent data out of the gas plan. Four network owners and a short list of delivery partners will barely register on any intent tool. Intent signals earn their place in large markets. In a small one, where 2,000 target companies might show signals on only about 10, I drop them and write one offer that every company on the list can say yes to.
For each title on your map, decide which channel opens the conversation before anything goes out. How to build a follow-up sequence that gets replies walks through that call.
In a buyer set this small, the map and the order of contact decide more than the send count.
What proof do gas networks want before they talk to you?
A gas network buyer checks you hard before replying. Have this ready before the first message goes out:
- UVDB status, plus Verify if you have it
- Utility references with the client type, the region and the scope
- Safety record, stated plainly
- Quality and environmental certificates that match what Cadent lists
- A complete Constructionline profile with references, if your category runs through a dynamic market
- One case study per network region you plan to cover
- A LinkedIn profile that shows all of the above, for whoever sends the message
That last point gets ignored more than any other. A category manager who clicks your name and finds a title and a photo has learned nothing about you.
The first message should be short and specific. Name the package you fit, the region you deliver in, and one utility reference with a result. If your proof needs work first, start with using case studies in cold email. My own rule is that past clients, their results and the case study go into the body of the message, where the buyer actually reads.
What not to send:
- A capability deck listing every service you have ever delivered
- "We work across all utilities" with no named region or package
- An unsolicited free audit or custom proposal
That last one costs suppliers the most. Free work is labor, and a buyer treats it as labor. Write your proof down once, as a reference sheet and a case study, so every buyer can read the same thing.
Do not give a company several days of free work, because they may use it without ever calling back.
When is the right time to start outreach?
Now. The CMA appeal is the timing signal.
The Competition and Markets Authority is considering appeals by five energy companies against gas distribution license modifications made on 3 February 2026. Those modifications were based on Ofgem's RIIO-3 decisions of 4 December 2025. Permission to appeal was granted to Cadent Gas, Northern Gas Networks, Southern Gas Networks, Scotland Gas Networks, and Wales & West Utilities. The appeals concern how much these companies can charge their customers. The CMA published provisional determinations on 14 August 2026, and the statutory deadline for final determinations, with the extension, is 31 October 2026 (CMA case page).
All four owners appealed, so part of their revenue for this price control was still open in autumn 2026. Read that as a commercial signal. Once the final determination lands, each network knows where it stands and can plan its packages with more certainty. Suppliers who are already registered, referenced and known to the right category manager are in the room when that happens. Suppliers who start after it are reading the tender notice like everyone else.
Set your expectations honestly. In spaces like this, people do not decide fast, and plenty of pipelines are only just getting started.
Calls can come in the first 30 days, but those deals may close 4+ months later, and B2B sales cycles are often 6, 9 or 12 months. My team recommends at least 3 months before anyone judges outbound, because it needs that long to get feedback and improve, and getting it fully working usually takes about 6 months.
One practical point: when a category manager agrees to talk, someone senior on your side needs a slot that week, not next month.
So the plan for this month is short. Register on UVDB. Fill in the Constructionline profile if your category is listed. Then build the four-network map with real titles, give each network one owner, and open the conversations while the networks settle their RIIO-GD3 plans. The buyer set is small, and it remembers who showed up early.
With only four owners to sell to, the order of contact matters more than anything else. If you want to plan it, we can talk it through together.
Questions suppliers ask about selling to UK gas networks
How do you become a supplier to Cadent Gas?
Register on the Achilles Utilities Vendor Database (UVDB), because Cadent says most of its purchases require it. For some work Cadent also asks for proof of health and safety, quality, environmental and corporate social responsibility standards, and a higher level of assurance through the Achilles Verify process. Registration makes you eligible. It does not make anyone buy.
How many gas distribution networks are there in Great Britain?
Ofgem counts 8 gas distribution networks in Great Britain, owned by 4 groups: Cadent, SGN, Northern Gas Networks and Wales & West Utilities. Each owner runs its own supplier process, so check each one's supplier page.
Who decides on contractors at a gas distribution network?
Not the board, which signs off the business plan. At the network, the decision usually sits with the people who own a category or a program: the head of procurement for the route and the rules, the category manager for the supplier choice inside one category, and the asset or program manager for what the work needs.