JD Sports will not appeal £1.5m fine from CMA for price fixing Rangers FC shirts September 27, 2022 JD Sports Fashion (JD Sports) has confirmed the company will not be appealing the fine it has been hit with for fixing prices of Rangers shirts.
CMA launches investigation into rising cost of antibiotics amid Strep A outbreak December 14, 2022 The rising prices of antibiotics amid an outbreak of Strep A in the UK has raised concerns with the UK’s competition watchdog. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched an investigation into the price rises today. Some pharmacies have reported being charged up to £19 for a box of drugs that normally costs a few [...]
INEOS boss Sir Jim Ratcliffe brands CMA ‘increasingly hostile to business’ after $1bn deal snub July 4, 2023 INEOS chair Sir Jim Ratcliffe has lashed out at Britain’s competition watchdog for being “increasingly hostile” to business – after it blocked a $1bn deal involving his firm. The business titan who founded the private chemicals giant made his comments after the Competition and Markets Authority prevented INEOS’ acquisition of Sika AG, a concrete additives [...]
A heavy-handed CMA is standing in the way of Britain being a leader in AI October 27, 2023 As a lifelong follower of computer science, it is interesting to see that the forthcoming AI Safety Summit will be held at Bletchley Park. Its role in Enigma code-breaking which turned the course of World War Two is well-known and it has since become synonymous with our country’s contribution to data science and AI. Although [...]
CMA and food safety regulators ‘struggling to recruit’ post-Brexit, says MPs October 12, 2022 British food safety and competition regulators are “struggling to recruit and retain the skills they need to regulate effectively” post-Brexit, according to a Westminster committee of MPs. A new report from the cross-party Public Accounts Committee (PAC) today said some regulators need more staff post-Brexit to handle new responsibilities, leading to labour shortages. This has [...]
CMA slaps Pfizer with record £63m fine for ‘illegally exploiting dominant position to overcharge NHS’ July 21, 2022 Drugmakers Pfizer, as well as Flynn, received a fine of close to £70m after they overcharged the NHS for a life-saving epilepsy drug, the UK competition watchdog has announced. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the two pharmaceutical giants “abused their dominant positions” in the market to charge unfairly high prices over a four-year [...]
FinTech sector asks UK government for more clarity in 2023 December 22, 2022 A group of UK based FinTech companies have written an open letter to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) calling for greater clarity on how open banking will be regulated from 2023 onwards. The letter criticizes the Joint Regulatory Oversight Committee (JROC), a regulatory body established in March by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The [...]
‘Lessen competition and deter investment’: BT lashes out at Vodafone-Three UK deal June 14, 2024 The regulator has been gathering responses to its investigation into Vodafone and Three UK's tie-up.
Raft of UK pharmaceutical directors risk being disqualified after CMA ruling September 2, 2022 The UK’s competition watchdog has today issued High Court proceedings to disqualify a raft of pharmaceutical directors, including Alliance Pharma’s CEO, over suspected anti-competitive agreements. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched the investigation into the UK’s pharmaceutical sector in 2017, and revealed earlier this year that several firms had been impeding competition in the [...]
JD Sports sells Footasylum to private equity firm after watchdog crackdown August 1, 2022 Trainer seller JD Sports has inked a deal to hand over Footasylum to Aurelius Group for £37.5m, following competition concerns. In recent weeks, JD Sports had been rumoured to be in talks with the German private equity group about selling the high street brand, which it attempted to takeover in 2019. JD said the sale [...]