UK's Cadent Appoints Chairman

Cadent Gas, the UK gas distribution company spun off by National Grid, said July 25 it has appointed Adrian Montague (below) as its chairman.

He joined the Cadent board for the first time on July 24. The company cited his range of experience from utilities, transport and construction to finance. He is also non-executive chairman of UK insurer Aviva, and the Manchester Airports Group.

(Credit: Aviva)

Montague said: “Gas has a huge and vital role to play in the country’s energy mix, both now and in the future. Cadent is at the leading edge of exploring technologies to deliver an affordable, sustainable and low carbon future." Prior to 1999, he was the global head of project finance at Dresdner Kleinwort Benson having joined that bank in 1993 after 20 years as a lawyer with Linklaters.

Cadent, whose CEO is Chris Train, remains 39%-owned by National Grid, but investment funds including one from Qatar now own 61% equity.

Cadent owns and runs 131,000 km of low-pressure pipes across northwest England, English Midlands, east Anglia and north London, serving 11mn homes, or just over half of UK homes using natural gas. 

Mark Smedley