Sutton's new free directory matches local firms with developers such as Berkeley and Lovell. Registration is by email, and no contract is guaranteed.

Sutton Council has opened a free Supplier Directory for small and medium-sized businesses in the borough. The idea is to put local firms in front of the developers and contractors about to start the borough’s biggest building projects.

The council launched it at its first “Meet the Buyer” event last week, and announced it on 24 September (Sutton Council).

Who was buying

Local businesses at the event heard presentations from four developers and from the council’s own procurement team. The developers were:

  • Bugler
  • Lovell
  • Socius
  • Berkeley St George

Suppliers then had one-to-one sessions with developers, procurement officers and support organisations. Those included the Federation of Small Businesses, Grow London Local and the Construction Industry Training Board (Sutton Council).

The projects behind it

The council pointed to two schemes as the main opportunities for local trades, construction suppliers and professional services.

The London Cancer Hub in Belmont. Sutton Council granted consent in February for a £1 billion expansion, led by Aviva Capital Partners with Socius as development manager. It is due to deliver around 1 million sq ft of laboratory and research space and 3,000 new jobs (Sutton Council, 4 February 2026).

Sutton Garden Square, on the former B&Q site in the town centre. Berkeley’s St George already has permission for 1,035 homes there, and has applied to raise that to 1,184. We covered that application, and the fall in affordable homes it proposes, earlier this month.

Councillor Jake Short, who chairs the council’s Housing, Economy and Business Committee, said the directory would let the borough’s small businesses “connect directly with major developers and procurement teams” (Sutton Council).

How the directory works

There is no online form. You register by emailing the council’s business team at business@sutton.gov.uk, and they guide you through it (Supplier Directory page). After that, the council says it will:

  1. check the information you give it
  2. look for supply chain opportunities that match what you do
  3. with your permission, share your details with the buyer, developer, contractor or procurement team
  4. leave the buyer to decide whether to contact you, and which procurement process applies

It is aimed at Sutton-based businesses. The council says it particularly wants to hear from firms with three or more employees that do not yet work with major developers. The trades it lists include:

  • construction, building and specialist trades
  • professional, technical and consultancy services
  • facilities management, maintenance, cleaning and security
  • landscaping and environmental services
  • transport and logistics
  • manufacturing and fabrication
  • IT and digital services

What it means for you

  • If you run a local firm in one of those trades, registering costs nothing but an email.
  • Read the small print. The council says registration does not guarantee an invitation to tender, a place on a shortlist or a contract.
  • Your details only go to buyers with your permission, and only where the council sees a match.
  • If you are a resident, this is the council trying to keep some of the money from two very large schemes inside the borough. Whether it works will show in who ends up on site.

Sources