Unlocking Development Through Infrastructure: In Conversation with AIS Utilities
As part of Cardiff Capital Region’s Invest Partnership Programme, we work with businesses that are helping to unlock investment, development and growth across South East Wales.
AIS Utilities is an independent utility infrastructure provider supporting developers and asset owners to overcome the practical challenges of connecting major developments to electricity, gas and water infrastructure. We spoke to the team about their ambitions for growth, the value of partnership and the opportunities they see across the region.
What does AIS Utilities do?
AIS Utilities is an independent utility infrastructure provider. We help developers, contractors and asset owners design, install and connect the electricity, gas and water infrastructure required to make developments operational. In simple terms we construct new incoming gas, electricity and water connections to developments.
Our involvement often starts before construction. We review utility capacity, identify constraints, develop the connection strategy and devise strategies to reduce cost, risk and programme delays. We then have the in-house capability to deliver the works, including design, project management, civils, jointing, traffic management, commissioning and final energisation.
We are a one stop shop for delivery of utility infrastructure.
How do you see your company growing in South East Wales?
AIS has always had strong Welsh roots. I grew up in the South Wales Valleys, many of our senior team are Welsh, and we see South East Wales as a major part of our long-term growth.
There is a significant pipeline of housing, regeneration, industrial, commercial, data-centre and energy projects across the region. However, many developments face challenges around grid capacity, connection costs and the time it takes to secure infrastructure. We believe AIS can help address those challenges.
Our ambition is to create a substantial regional delivery platform, supporting projects from Cardiff and Newport through to the Valleys and the wider Capital Region. That means creating skilled employment, developing local supply chains and ensuring that more of the economic value generated by major developments remains within Wales. We are also investing in our South Wales operational capability so that we can offer developers a genuinely competitive alternative to the traditional utility delivery model.
Why does the Invest partnership programme matter to your business?
The Invest partnership programme matters because businesses do not grow in isolation. It provides a year-round platform through which the private sector, local authorities, investors and regional organisations can build relationships and present a joined-up story about South East Wales.
For AIS, it gives us an opportunity to contribute practical knowledge about infrastructure, grid capacity and development viability. We are often involved at the point where an ambitious development either becomes deliverable or stalls because of utility constraints.
The programme also allows us to promote South East Wales collectively. Rather than individual businesses or local authorities competing for attention, we can demonstrate the scale of the region’s opportunity to UK and international investors.
That collaboration is essential if we want South East Wales to attract major investment and then successfully deliver the projects that investment creates.
What projects are you working on at the moment that you can share?
We are currently delivering and developing utility strategies across a wide range of sectors, including major residential developments, build-to-rent, student accommodation, industrial and commercial schemes, hospitality, electric vehicle infrastructure and data centres.
We are also working with partners across the Cardiff Capital Region to better understand utility capacity, connection costs, strategic corridors and potential asset adoption opportunities across key development sites.
We delivered the incoming utilities to the first ever co-living scheme in Cardiff and have gained the trust of major clients such as Lovells, United Welsh, Intelle Construction, Urban Centric and Draycott Group. Our wider group is delivering major gas infrastructure works and is involved in frameworks covering defence, water and civil engineering.
Some projects remain confidential, but the consistent theme is that they are increasingly complex. Developers need a partner that can understand the commercial objective, identify the infrastructure constraints and then take responsibility for delivering the solution.
That is where AIS is strongest.
Has the partnership programme given you an opportunity to make new connections?
Yes, absolutely. It has introduced us to investors, professional advisers, public-sector representatives and other businesses that we may not otherwise have met. More importantly, the programme creates the environment for proper conversations.
At many traditional networking events, people exchange details and then move on. Through the Invest partnership, there is a greater focus on understanding what each organisation is trying to achieve and where collaboration could create a practical outcome.
Several of the relationships we have developed are now progressing into discussions around sites, infrastructure strategies, introductions and potential commercial opportunities.
For us, that is the real value of the programme: turning regional relationships into tangible projects and investment.
What flagship events have you joined us at and what was your experience of those events?
We have participated in flagship activity including UKREiiF, MIPIM and Wales Week London, alongside regional roundtables and partnership events.
The experience has been extremely positive. The events bring together senior decision-makers from property, infrastructure, investment and government, but they also provide South East Wales with a platform to communicate its proposition confidently to the wider international market.
UKREiiF was particularly valuable because it allowed us to speak directly with developers, investors and public-sector leaders about the practical barriers affecting development. Those conversations are important because utilities are sometimes treated as a technical issue to be addressed later, when they can actually determine whether a project is financially and operationally viable.
The events have also reinforced the importance of presenting South East Wales as one connected investment region, supported by a strong private-sector delivery base.
What does the next year look like for your business?
The next year is about controlled but significant growth. Our wider ambition across the businesses is 1BN turnover by 2030 supported by 200m at AIS Utilities.
We will continue expanding our South Wales presence, strengthening our regional delivery teams and building deeper relationships with developers, contractors, local authorities and housing providers.
We are increasing our capability in higher-voltage infrastructure, data centres, renewable energy, battery storage and electric vehicle projects, while continuing to grow our core residential and commercial utility business. We also want to become involved earlier in strategic developments. The greatest value we can provide is often before a planning application is completed or a contractor arrives on site. Early utility input can improve viability, reduce programme risk and prevent expensive redesigns later.
Ultimately, our objective is not simply to win more contracts. It is to build a major Welsh-rooted infrastructure business that creates skilled employment, supports local companies and helps unlock investment across South East Wales.
We see enormous potential in the region, and we intend to play a meaningful role in delivering it.
From housing and regeneration to data centres, renewable energy and major infrastructure, AIS Utilities sees significant opportunities ahead for South East Wales.
Through the Invest Partnership Programme, we are bringing together businesses, investors and public sector partners to build relationships, share expertise and support the projects that will shape the region’s future.
Interested in becoming part of the CCR Invest Partnership Programme? Find out more about how your business can connect with opportunities, partners and conversations across South East Wales.
