Competition Law and Antitrust Law

The UK Competition and Markets Authority has exercised its new enforcement powers under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 for the first time, imposing a £4.2 million penalty on The AA for drip pricing practices.

The Competition and Markets Authority has issued its first infringement decision under the UK's new consumer enforcement regime, fining the AA £4.2 million for misleading pricing practices and requiring substantial consumer refunds. This landmark case signals a fundamental shift in UK consumer protection enforcement, with businesses now facing significantly tougher penalties including fines up to 10% of turnover and mandatory consumer redress schemes.

Merger Control Comparative Guide for the jurisdiction of UK, check out our comparative guides section to compare across multiple countries

On 30 April 2026, almost a year after the launch of its public consultation, the European Commission (Commission) published its eagerly awaited revised draft Merger Guidelines (Draft Guidelines).

On 31 March 2026, the CMA announced the launch of a Strategic Market Status (SMS) investigation into Microsoft's business software ecosystem, but in a surprise move, opted not to pursue similar investigations...

In a notable judgment, the Court of Appeal in Granville Technology Group Limited (In Liquidation) & Ors v LG Display Co. Limited & Anor partially allowed an appeal by the claimants in respect of an award of damages...

Freight transport M&A showed signs of recovery in Q1 2026, with deal volume rising approximately 5% and capital concentrating in larger strategic transactions. North American activity surged back to pre-Liberation Day levels, while geopolitical risks and structural oversupply continued to reshape buyer strategies and underwriting models across the sector.

Over the past two decades, the value of sports franchises and related assets has skyrocketed, with rapid revenue growth across various commercial streams including the more traditional broadcasting and sponsorship (both now of course more global than ever), to new commercial tie ups and off field year round monetisation of stadia. While the skyrocketing valuations have prompted some commentators to argue that we could be witnessing the formation of a "sports bubble", this does not seem correct to us.

Global cartel fines totaled USD3.3 billion in 2025. This was a significant increase on 2024 (USD602.5 million) and 2023 (USD1.9bn) and represented the highest annual total since 2021 (USD4.0bn).