Watchdog calls for Viagogo-Stubhub breakup over competition concerns October 22, 2020 The UK’s competition watchdog has called for ticket reseller Viagogo to sell “all or part of” Stubhub, after a large-scale review into the merger found the two were close competitors in “a very concentrated market”. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said its investigation into the $4bn (£3bn) deal, completed in February, found it was [...]
Mark Zuckerberg ‘threatened to pull UK investment’ in meeting with Matt Hancock December 8, 2020 Mark Zuckerberg reportedly threatened to pull Facebook’s investment from the UK in a meeting with Matt Hancock amid a regulation row. Secret minutes from a meeting in 2018, obtained by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, reveal Hancock, who was the Culture Secretary at the time, offered a “new beginning” for the government’s relationship with the [...]
We must uphold online competition at home, or we risk lagging behind the EU May 25, 2022 RIght now in the European Union, law-makers are putting the finishing touches on the Digital Markets Act – a landmark law which will upend big tech firms’ business models to improve competition online. In the UK, on the other hand, regulators, ministers and many lawmakers are frustrated. UK regulators are convinced dominant big tech firms [...]
Competition watchdog requests probe into Virgin-O2 merger October 8, 2020 The UK competition watchdog has asked the EU to refer the planned tie-up between O2 and Virgin for a full investigation in Britain. O2’s owner Telefonica in May confirmed plans for a £31bn mega-merger with Virgin Media, owned by Liberty Global. The proposed deal falls under the remit of the European Commission to review, but [...]
Google gears up for £20bn ‘ad tech’ claim that it pushes revenues away from newspapers September 13, 2022 Google is being sued for up to €25bn (£21.6bn) over claims it has deprived other sites from obtaining billions of pounds in advertising revenues. The class action complaints from both UK and the Netherlands argue that the Silicon Valley giant used its advertising tech to unfairly sideline publishers, like newspapers, magazine and blogs. The main [...]
Audit reform – Two minds are better than one June 2, 2021 The UK might not have won Eurovision 2021, indeed it suffered the humiliation of scoring nil points, but it has certainly led the current race on audit and wider corporate governance reform. The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) issued its consultation ‘Restoring trust in audit and corporate governance’ in March with a [...]
‘Pump-price competition is broken’: AA disagrees with watchdog’s verdict that 5p tax duty cut WAS passed on at the pump July 8, 2022 Motoring groups have disagreed with Competition and Markets Authority’s verdict that the 5p fuel duty cut was reflected in pump prices, as the watchdog calls for further investigation and more transparency. The CMA’s urgent review, ordered by Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, found an increase “refining spread” added 24p a litre to petrol and diesel over [...]
Marston’s and Carlsberg get green light for £780m brewing JV October 9, 2020 Brewers Marston’s and Carlsberg have been given the go-ahead to complete a £780m joint venture after a Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) investigation. Shares in London-listed Marston’s rose 16.7 per cent as markets cheered the decision. The UK’s competition watchdog said that as the two firms had different areas of focus, competition between the two [...]
Has Tesco benefited from people trading down? April 10, 2024 Britain’s largest supermarket Tesco made a profit of £2.8bn - up £300m on the prior years figure - as the grocer said a slew of price cuts helped attract customers.
CMA targets fashion industry over ‘greenwashing’ concerns June 27, 2022 The CMA is going after fashion brands responsible for “greenwashing” with a plan to “name and shame” the worst offenders. The fashion sector made up about a quarter of complaints received by the Competition and Markets Authority over false or misleading environmental claims, called greenwashing, according to research by law firm RPC. The CMA is, [...]