Competition watchdog hits Heathrow with £1.6m fine
Heathrow Airport has been slapped with a £1.6m fine over limiting competition for parking prices and infringing competition law.
Britain’s competition regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), said this afternoon that the airport and the owner of Heathrow T5 Hotel Limited had infringed competition law.
The company commented: "The CMA found that the Arora Group and the Company were parties to an anti-competitive agreement in 2005. This was historic and pre-dates our current management and shareholders. The matter relates to the price the Sofitel could charge for a very small proportion of the car parking offered at that hotel.
"We believe that the provision was never monitored or enforced and, as such, there would have been no impact on Heathrow’s customers or the Sofitel. However, we recognise that the Company and the Arora Group should not have agreed the provision back in 2005 and we accept the CMA’s settlement fine of £1.6m. We are strongly committed to ensuring compliance with all applicable laws and have taken appropriate steps to ensure that compliance is reinforced following the CMA’s decision."