News | Latest Breaking News Stories & Headlines

UK competition watchdog probes Greencore-Bakkavor deal

Britain's competition regulator has today launched an investigation into convenience food manufacturer Greencore's acquisition of peer Bakkavor, setting a deadline of October 27 for a decision.

Business • 01 Sep

UK builders to pay £100m to housing programmes

Seven UK housing developers have agreed to pay a total of £100m to affordable housing programmes in Britain following a competition watchdog investigation into potentially anticompetitive behaviour.

Business • 09 Jul

The Direct Line Insurance Group Plc app and the Aviva Plc app displayed on a mobile phone arranged in London, UK, on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. Aviva Plc reached a preliminary agreement to buy Direct Line Insurance Group Plc for £3.6 billion ($4.6 billion) in

UK watchdog clears £3.7 billion Aviva-Direct Line deal

The UK competition watchdog has today cleared Aviva's £3.7 billion takeover of smaller rival Direct Line, paving the way for the creation of Britain's largest home and motor insurer.

Business • 01 Jul

Aviva and Direct Line struck the landmark agreement in December to create one of London's largest listed insurers

Aviva's Direct Line deal faces UK competition probe

Aviva's bid to become Britain's largest home and motor insurer via a £3.7 billion takeover of smaller rival Direct Line suffered a potential snag today, after Britain's antitrust watchdog said it would review the deal.

Business • 14 May

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority began an investigation in 2022 into how sports broadcasters shared sensitive information about freelancers' pay

UK watchdog fines broadcast firms £4m in freelancer probe

Britain's competition regulator fined four sports broadcast and production companies about £4m in total today for sharing sensitive information about fees for freelance camera operators and sound technicians.

Business • 21 Mar

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) antitrust regulator cleared the $19 billion Vodafone-Three UK deal yesterday

Vodafone-Three merger approval marks UK antitrust shift

Britain's decision to allow two of its four mobile networks to merge is the first big sign that regulators have taken on board the UK government's wish for them to prioritise economic growth and infrastructure investment over lower consumer prices.

Business • 06 Dec 24

Supermarket loyalty schemes offer genuine savings - CMA

British supermarket prices offered through loyalty schemes provide genuine savings, the competition regulator ruled today, providing a boost to the major players who are increasingly relying on them to attract shoppers.

Business • 27 Nov 24

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority said it had provisionally found the mobile browser markets were not working well for UK businesses and millions of phone users

UK regulator may probe Apple's, Google's mobile browsers

Apple could be holding back innovation in smartphone browsers, according to a British regulatory report, which recommended that Apple's and Google's duopoly in mobile ecosystems should be investigated with its new powers.

Business • 22 Nov 24

The UK competition regulator said Vodafone's merger with Three UK could lead to higher prices for mobile customers

Vodafone-Three UK deal may push customers bills up

Vodafone's $19 billion merger with Three UK could push up bills for millions of mobile customers and impact providers like Sky Mobile by reducing the number of networks from four to three, Britain's competition regulator has said.

Business • 13 Sep 24

The UK Competition and Markets Authority said it believed Google was using anti-competitive practices in open display ad tech through the preference of its own ad exchange

Google abusing power over website ads, UK regulator says

Britain's antitrust regulator said today it had provisionally found Alphabet's Google had abused its dominant position in digital advertising to restrict competition.

Business • 06 Sep 24

The tie-up between Vodafone UK and Three UK, announced last year, will reduce the number of mobile networks in Britain from four to three

UK watchdog to probe Vodafone-Hutchison mobile merger

The UK's competition watchdog has launched an investigation into the $19 billion merger between Vodafone's UK operation and CK Hutchison's Three UK, reviewing whether the deal will hurt competition, it said today.

Business • 26 Jan 24

Thje UK's Competition and Markets Authority is to examine Unilever's 'green' claims

UK to scrutinise Unilever's green claims on products

Britain's competition watchdog said today it will scrutinise environmental claims made by UK consumer goods giant Unilever about certain household essential items, amid a wider crack down on greenwashing.

Business • 12 Dec 23

UK regulator to review supermarket loyalty schemes

Britain's antitrust regulator said it would launch a review of loyalty scheme pricing by supermarkets, such as Tesco's Clubcard and Sainsbury's Nectar, considering its impact on consumers and competition in the groceries sector.

Business • 29 Nov 23

The UK Competition and Markets Authority became the first regulator to block the $69 billion deal in April, drawing fury from Microsoft and Activision Blizzard

UK's CMA open to new Microsoft-Activision investigation

Britain's competition regulator said today a restructured deal between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard could satisfy its concerns, subject to a new investigation.

Business • 12 Jul 23

The UK's ompetition and Markets Authority vetoed the deal in April

Microsoft sets out grounds for Activision appeal in UK

Microsoft is challenging Britain's decision to block its $69 billion takeover of "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard on the grounds of "fundamental errors" in the assessment of Microsoft's cloud gaming services.

Business • 29 May 23

Deutsche Bank and Citigroup have admitted anti-competitive activity between 2009 and 2013

Bank traders may have broken competition law - CMA

Deutsche Bank and Citigroup admitted anti-competitive activity by exchanging sensitive information on UK government bonds between 2009 and 2013, Britain's anti-trust watchdog said, as it provisionally found five banks in breach of competition rules.

Business • 24 May 23

The UK competition regulator has removed a major obstacle to Microsoft's deal for Activision Blizzard

UK drops console concern over Microsoft-Activision deal

The UK competition regulator said Microsoft's $69-billion purchase of "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard would not harm competition in gaming consoles, removing a major obstacle to the deal.

Business • 24 Mar 23

The UK has referred Microsoft's $68.7 billion acquisition of 'Call of Duty' maker Activision Blizzard for an in-depth investigation

Microsoft-Activision deal headed for in-depth probe

Britain's competition regulator said it will refer Microsoft's $68.7 billion acquisition of "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard for an in-depth investigation.

Business • 01 Sep 22

The bank self-reported the breaches to the CMA

Bank of Ireland breached two UK banking rules - CMA

The British Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has said it intends to monitor Bank of Ireland UK's future compliance with banking regulations after it emerged that the bank had breached two of the rules.

Business • 22 Jul 22

The CMA has opened a probe into whether Amazon's practices that affect sellers on its domestic marketplace may be anti-competitive

Amazon faces UK competition probe

Britain's competition watchdog is investigating Amazon.com on concerns it was hurting competition by giving its own sellers an unfair advantage in its marketplace over third parties.

Business • 06 Jul 22

JD Sports and Footasylum have been fined a combined £4.7m by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority

JD Sports & Footasylum fined, CEO meetings breach order

Britain has today fined sportswear retailers JD Sports and Footasylum, saying meetings between their bosses breached an order that barred the two merged companies from integrating further.

Business • 14 Feb 22

Taylor Wimpey said it will drop contract terms that lock leaseholders into rents that double every 10 years

UK's Taylor Wimpey drops rent-doubling clauses

Britain's third biggest homebuilder Taylor Wimpey said it will drop contract terms that lock leaseholders into rents that double every 10 years.

Business • 22 Dec 21

The UK's CMA is looking at whether users could install apps through methods other than Apple's App Store or Google's PlayStore

Google and Apple have 'vice-like' grip on UK consumers

Google and Apple hold a "vice-like" grip over how people use mobile phones, stripping any meaningful choice from the system for customers, Britain's competition regulator said today.

Business • 14 Dec 21

Microsoft said it would buy Nuance in April to boost its presence in cloud services for healthcare

UK regulator looks into Microsoft's deal for Nuance

Britain's competition regulator said today it will look into Microsoft's $16 billion purchase of artificial intelligence and speech technology firm Nuance Communications.

Business • 13 Dec 21

The CMA found the combination of the two sportswear chains could hurt competition and leave consumers with fewer choices

JD Sports must sell Footasylum after all - UK regulator

Britain's biggest sportswear retailer JD Sports must sell Footasylum, the UK competition regulator said today.

Business • 04 Nov 21