Competition | UK Regulatory Outlook March 2025

Water claim

The Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) has unanimously refused to certify the collective proceedings brought against six water companies. The claims allege that companies had been abusing their dominant position by underreporting pollution incidents, enabling them to charge higher prices for sewage services. The CAT found that the claims for abuse of dominance are excluded by section 18(8) of the Water Industry Act 1991, as they are based on the companies’ contravention of their conditions of appointment regarding the reporting of pollution incidents. However, the CAT said that if it were not for this statutory exclusion, it would have granted the collective proceedings orders.

Growth and Investment Council

The Competition and Markets Authority’s Growth and Investment Council held its first meeting on 28 January 2025.

Minutes published on 7 March show key themes of supporting the implementation and development of the government’s Industrial Strategy, improving business and investor confidence in/engagement with the regime, exploring the international dimension of the CMA’s work, and supporting small businesses and consumer protection.

Competition collective actions

A collective action against the owner of Royal Mail, the UK postal service provider, has been certified by the CAT. The approximately £1 billion claim, which relates to anticompetitive behaviour in the bulk-mail delivery market, is being pursued on behalf of around 290,000 businesses and organisations.

The claim “follows on” from Ofcom’s 2018 decision that Royal Mail unlawfully abused its dominant position in the market for bulk mail delivery services by attempting to introduce discriminatory prices, leading to Whistl, an access operator for bulk mail, to abandon its plans to expand its own delivery service. The class representative alleges that this infringement led to higher prices for bulk mail retail services due to reduced competition following Whistl’s exit from the market. The proposed class is made up of all purchasers of bulk mail retail services between 10 January 2014 and 29 May 2024.

The tribunal emphasised the importance of proper funding arrangements and governance, including the involvement of a consultative panel and, unusually, a Class Members Customer Group. This was done to allow “large corporate and other entities” who are “likely to have claims for significant sums of money” to be more actively involved in the proceedings.

The tribunal rejected objections raised by Royal Mail concerning the class representative’s proposed methodology to assess loss, which essentially uses a comparison with the markets in Germany and Sweden, where there is competition between bulk mail delivery service providers, to assess how prices would have evolved in the UK had there been competitive entry. It considered the methodology to be sufficiently plausible and credible to support certification, albeit the tribunal expected the methodology to evolve during the course of the proceedings, notably in light of the disclosure that would be obtained by the class representative.

No FTC engagement with ABA

On 14 February, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Andrew Ferguson prohibited FTC political appointees from participating in American Bar Association (ABA) activities, criticising the ABA for its (in his view) perceived “leftist” bias, “partisan advocacy” and “financial interests in USAID”. He takes the view that the ABA “advances radical left-wing causes and promotes the business interests of Big Tech”. This is another example of the increasing politicisation of competition and anti-trust regimes. In the UK, the CMA is under scrutiny by the government as it seeks to change its regulatory approach as part of its drive for increased growth.

Technology Transfer Block Exemption Regulations

The CMA is reviewing the assimilated Technology Transfer Block Exemption Regulation (the Assimilated TTBER) to inform the CMA’s recommendation to government on whether to replace it on its expiry on 30 April 2026. The CMA had initially intended to consult on its proposed recommendation in December 2024.

The Commission has launched a call for evidence and consultation on potential changes to the TTBER and guidelines, with responses invited until 25 April. The call for evidence states that the Commission will publish a draft revised TTBER and draft revised guidelines for public consultation in the summer of 2025.

Sports broadcasting investigation

The CMA has imposed fines totalling over £4 million following a finding that five sports broadcast and production companies had shared sensitive information on fees for freelance workers (such as camera operators and sound technicians).

In particular, the CMA found 15 instances in which companies had shared sensitive information on freelancers’ pay with each other, including on day rates and price rises. In most cases, the aim was to coordinate how much to pay to freelancers, with evidence demonstrating that one business told another that they have “no intention of getting into a bidding war” but “want to be aligned and benchmark the rates.

This infringement decision shows the CMA’s continued focus on competition issues in labour markets. In line with the CMA’s guidance for employers on avoiding anti-competitive behaviour, businesses should:

• Be aware that salary information is sensitive and should not be shared with competitors – this is not limited to freelance payments, but includes granular information on employee salaries too.
• Be careful when using external recruiters to establish salary ‘benchmarks’. The receipt of salary information on competitors can expose you to the risk of fines if not properly aggregated and anonymised by third parties.
• Provide recruitment staff with training on competition law and how it applies in the recruitment context.

For more, see our Insight.