Competition Law and Antitrust Law

The CMA has made it its mission to speed up the Phase 1 and Phase 2 merger investigation process in the UK. Through the lens of Vandemoortele/Délifrance, Associated British Foods (ABF)/Hovis...

The October 2026 edition examines significant competition law developments across the UK and EU, including the European Commission's final guidelines on exclusionary abuses of dominance...

The Competition Appeal Tribunal has partially approved collective proceedings against Apple and Amazon, certifying claims related to on-platform pricing while rejecting off-platform allegations.

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority has dramatically accelerated its consumer protection enforcement since acquiring new powers in April 2025, opening 19 investigations in just over a year...

The UK Competition and Markets Authority has exercised its new consumer enforcement fining powers for the first time under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, targeting AA and BSM Driving Schools for unlawful drip pricing practices. This landmark case reveals the CMA's five-step penalty framework and highlights critical distinctions between consumer and competition law fines that will shape enforcement strategies across UK markets.

The Competition and Markets Authority has wielded its new consumer enforcement powers for over a year, imposing millions in fines and redress orders while deploying AI monitoring and advisory letters to target businesses across multiple sectors. From misleading pricing to unfair contract terms, the CMA's expanding enforcement strategy reveals critical compliance risks that consumer-facing businesses can no longer afford to ignore.

Competition law affects every business, regardless of size or sector. Whether you’re negotiating with suppliers, submitting tenders or discussing pricing strategies, the rules governing anti-competitive behaviour are always in play. Getting it wrong can result in significant fines, director disqualification and even criminal prosecution.

This newsletter examines pivotal competition law developments across the UK and EU, including the CJEU's landmark €4.125bn fine against Google for Android-related abuses, the UK Court of Appeal's significant ruling on distribution system restrictions, and the implications of Andy Burnham's premiership for UK competition policy.

The strict criteria laid down in the EU Court of Justice's (CJEU) landmark Bronner judgment have often been deployed by dominant firms as a "shield" when facing accusations of acting abusively by blocking competitors from using or accessing their assets.