New CMA chair to take pro-growth approach after Reeves intervention January 26, 2025 The UK’s competition regulator will get behind Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ pro-growth demands after a new coalition of Labour MPs called for a “rapid review” of all ongoing work. Labour’s Growth Group, a centrist movement of around 110 MPs and ministers, said it had written to new interim chair Doug Gurr and chief executive Sarah Cardell [...]
CMA begins redundancy programme after overshooting budget January 23, 2025 The competition watchdog is planning to slash its head count by around ten per cent after overshooting its budget last year, piling fresh pressure on the body following the sudden exit of its chair this week. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which has faced public anger from the Prime minister and Chancellor over its [...]
‘It’s a clear message’: Reeves’ CMA scalp fires warning to regulators January 23, 2025 The government has sent a “clear message” to UK regulators by ousting the chair of competition watchdog, in what lawyers described as the “most overtly political” regulatory intervention of recent years. Marcus Bokkerink, who joined the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in 2022, was forced out of his role due to a “different approach” on [...]
CMA launches probe into Google search dominance under new regime January 14, 2025 Google has been placed under investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to assess whether its search and advertising services deliver fair results within the UK. In a statement today, the watchdog announced the launch of its first “strategic market status designation investigation” under a new Strategic Market Status (SMS) regime, which was rolled [...]
Independent Football Regulator hires head of legal from CMA January 6, 2025 The incoming football regulator has appointed a head of legal as it steps up plans to begin its work in earnest in 2025. David Riley this week left his role as legal director of the Competition and Markets Authority to take up a role with the football body, where he will head up the legal [...]
Starmer demands ‘concrete proposals’ on growth from regulators December 28, 2024 The Prime Minister has called on Britain’s regulators to do more to prioritise growth as he seeks to improve living standards by 2029. In letters sent last week, Sir Keir Starmer, Chancellor Rachel Reeves and business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said they wanted to see “concrete proposals” from regulators setting out how they could “go further” [...]
Vodafone and Three: What £16.5bn merger actually means for customers and prices December 5, 2024 After an almost 18-month battle the UK’s largest ever telecoms deal – which will see Vodafone and Three complete a £16.5bn merger – has been given the green light. Described by Vodafone as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform the UK’s digital infrastructure”, the deal has now satisfied the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) enough for [...]
CMA takes steps towards probe into BlackRock’s acquisition of Preqin December 3, 2024 The British competition regulator takes first steps towards a probe into BlackRock's anticipated £2.55bn acquisition of financial data group Preqin
Why UK petrol and diesel prices are still sky high despite recent fall November 28, 2024 The price of petrol and diesel in the UK fell between June and October 2024 but the margin retailers are making from each visit to the pump has surged. According to new figures from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) fuel prices decreased in the period because, in part, of the changing crude oil prices [...]
Tesco Clubcard and Sainbury’s Nectar schemes do help consumers, regulator says November 27, 2024 A year-long probe into UK supermarkets’ pricing practices has found “very little” evidence that shoppers are being treated unfairly with loyalty programmes such as the Tesco Clubcard scheme and Sainsbury’s Nectar points. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) probe, which has been ongoing since November last year, investigated whether supermarket loyalty schemes cause inflation by faking the [...]