CMA to investigate Aviva’s £3.7bn Direct Line deal May 14, 2025 The UK’s competition watchdog has begun an investigation into insurance giant Aviva’s proposed £3.7bn acquisition of Direct Line. The Competition and Markets Authority said it had commenced its phase one inquiry to establish whether the deal would result in a “realistic prospect of a substantial lessening of competition.” The CMA has invited comment on the [...]
Mark Kleinman: CMA revamp to spur boom for M&A bankers March 20, 2025 Mark Kleinman is Sky News’ City Editor and the man who gets the Square Mile talking in his weekly Morning Wire column. This week, he tackles changes at the CMA, Achilles’ new target, and a logistics funding boost. Will there even be a competition regulator at this rate? After this week’s latest summons to Downing Street for a [...]
Regulator will drop plans to ‘name and shame’ UK companies March 12, 2025 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is set to announce that it will shelve plans to “name and shame” companies accused of falling foul of its rules. Following pressure to drop the controversial policy, the financial watchdog will U-turn on the new threshold for disclosing more public details on companies under investigation. Announced back in February [...]
Banks including HSBC fined £100m for ‘anti-competitive behaviour’ February 21, 2025 In a statement released this morning, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) confirmed that the banks have agreed to pay fines for this anti-competitive behaviour.
Ousted CMA chair Bokkerink defends tenure February 8, 2025 Marcus Bokkerink, the sacked chairman of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), has given a staunch defence of his tenure at the regulator. Bokkerink was ousted by the government last month in what lawyers described as the “most overtly political” regulatory intervention of recent years. The move, which saw Bokkerink replaced by former Amazon exec [...]
CMA shake-up set to drive resurgence of UK M&A activity February 5, 2025 Merger and acquisitions (M&A) in the UK are expected to strengthen in 2025, aided by the recent shake-up at the competition regulator
‘Deregulation is essential’: Starmer vows to slash red tape in bid for growth January 29, 2025 Keir Starmer vowed to deregulate Britain and cut through “thickets of red tape” today as he tried to reboot his government’s handling of the economy following months of anaemic growth and criticism from business. In an article for the Times, the Prime Minister wrote “deregulation is essential” and warned investors were shunning the UK due [...]
CMA set for showdown with Amazon and Microsoft over cloud dominance January 28, 2025 The competition watchdog could be set for a showdown with Amazon and Microsoft after an independent inquiry group said the regulator should probe the two firms’ dominance in the cloud services market. After launching an investigation into the market in 2023, the inquiry group said today that competition in the £9bn sector was not working [...]
Glaring contradiction at heart of government growth agenda January 28, 2025 In the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act of 2013 (stay with me) the Competition Commission and the Office of Fair Trading were abolished, and in their place emerged the Competition and Markets Authority. The 2013 Act enshrined the regulator’s remit and responsibilities, with a hefty focus on protecting consumers. On the CMA’s website, they summarise [...]
CMA to “brainstorm” growth ideas with business groups as pressure mounts January 27, 2025 The competition watchdog is set to be grilled by some of the UK’s biggest business bodies tomorrow as it looks to shore up confidence following the ousting of its chair by ministers last week. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which has faced anger from both the government and private sector over what has been [...]