On 2 June 2025, the European Commission ("EC") imposed fines of €329 million on Delivery Hero and Glovo for participating in a cartel to eliminate competitive rivalry in the online food delivery sector across the EEA.
Aside from reinforcing the message from our May 2025 horizon scanning that labour markets are a global enforcement trend that shows no sign of abating anytime soon, this investigation also highlights the risks associated with holding shares in competitor businesses – increasing the risk of information exchange and collusion.
Background
Delivery Hero/Glovo is a reminder for HR teams, hiring teams and internal teams managing contracts for freelance workers and contractors that their processes and procedures should be aligned with competition law.
In its investigation, the EC found that the parties had entered into no-poach agreements which rapidly increased in scope, reminiscent of the recent investigation into sports broadcasting services by the Competition and Markets Authority.
Impact for no-poach agreements
No-poach agreements between competitors are looking increasingly high-risk, as are information sharing pertaining to rates of pay and contractual terms of staff and contractors. Businesses should also be live to the risk that competitors in labour markets may differ significantly to competitors in the marketplace and perhaps think twice before meeting the warehouse next-door to discuss benchmarking.
What is the impact?
Delivery Hero/Glovo also raises an important consideration regarding information exchange at board level. It is clear from the decision that it is not an infringement of competition law to simply hold a minority shareholding in a competitor's business, however organisations should tread carefully. Any form of involvement with competitor businesses poses a risk – particularly where that involvement provides access to competitively sensitive information. Whilst it is rare that a business will directly hold a minority shareholding in a competitor's premises, it is much less unusual for a minority shareholding in two competing businesses to be held by the same private equity or venture capital fund.
This case marks the first time that the European Commission has explicitly addressed the risks posed by holding shares in a competitor and is likely to lead to increased scrutiny of information exchange via board representation in the future.
What steps should you take?
Delivery Hero/Glovo highlights the importance of ensuring that a culture of compliance exists in each team across your business, not just sales teams. Often, non-compliant practices outside of sales teams go under the radar, as other business areas are perceived to carry a lower risk to the business.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
