CMA Updates Cartels Leniency Guidance

1. Summary

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority ("CMA") has updated its guidance on leniency and no-action applications in cartel investigations. The new guidance came into force on 28 October 2025, following a public consultation earlier in the year.

The changes are intended to bring the guidance into line with relevant legislation, as well as reflecting developments in the CMA's policy, experience and processes. These include delaying the requirement for a leniency applicant to admit their participation in cartel activity, removal of upfront immunity for corporate Type B¹ applicants and of automatic immunity for director disqualification for directors of corporate Type B and Type C leniency applicants, and clarification regarding the range of discounts available for Type B and Type C applicants.

2. Background

Under the CMA's leniency policy, firms and individuals have who been involved in cartel conduct are encouraged to come forward and to cooperate with the CMA in exchange for immunity from, or a reduction in, financial penalties, as well as immunity from criminal prosecution and/or director disqualification proceedings². In April 2025 the CMA launched a consultation on updating its leniency guidance, which had been issued by the CMA's predecessor, the Office of Fair Trading ("OFT"), in 2013 and adopted by the CMA in 2014. Also in scope of the consultation were the associated 'Quick Guides' (now renamed, 'short guides') which explain how individuals and businesses can benefit from reporting and providing evidence of a cartel.

The changes to the CMA's leniency guidance form part of a wider package of updates and reforms being implemented by the CMA as part of its '4Ps framework' – pace, predictability, proportionality and process – through which it aims to support the UK government's wider aim to drive growth, investment and business confidence in the UK.

The CMA's consultation closed on 9 June 2025, and the updated guidance came into force on 28 October 2025.

3. The updated guidance

The changes to the guidance are intended to ensure that the incentives offered under the leniency regime support the CMA's enforcement objectives, and that individuals and businesses continue to come forward to report unlawful activity. In that regard, the new guidance delays the requirement for admission of participation in cartel activity by a leniency applicant, so that such admission is not required unless and until a leniency agreement is signed. The revised guidance also implements changes intended to make it easier for leniency applicants to come forward, by providing for the use of an online process as opposed to the oral application process outlined in the old guidance.

However, the new guidance also implements certain changes that are more restrictive, such as:

• Removal of the availability of upfront immunity from financial penalties for corporate Type B applicants, and removal of the availability of 'leniency plus'³ for Type B applicants, to reflect the reality that under the CMA's current practice upfront immunity and leniency plus have never been granted to corporate Type B applicants;
• Clarification that although corporate Type B leniency discounts of up to 100% are available, in practice they are unlikely to exceed 75% (and may be significantly lower – in practice such discounts have sometimes been as low as 20%), and that Type C applicants may be given discounts significantly below the maximum of 50% (under the CMA's current practice discounts awarded to Type C applicants range from 15% to 50%);
• Removal of automatic immunity for director disqualification for directors of corporate Type B and Type C leniency applicants, which is instead replaced with discretionary immunity; and
• Clarification that the CMA is unlikely to exercise its discretion to grant criminal immunity in relation to Type B and Type C leniency applications, on the basis that the CMA considers the public interest in pursuing offenders is unlikely to be outweighed by the level of assistance any individual will be able to provide in a Type B or Type C situation.

The new guidance also reflects a number of legislative and practical changes that have come about since the old guidance was published, including providing updated examples of cartel activity to reflect more recent CMA practice, the removal of dishonesty from the cartel offence under the Enterprise Act 2002, the transfer of relevant functions from the OFT to the CMA, the UK's exit from the European Union, the introduction of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, and the introduction of a new debarment regime governed by the Procurement Act 2023.

The guidance also includes an updated definition of cartel activity to reflect recent case law, such as the Competition Appeal Tribunal's observations in Lexon v CMA⁴, that the CMA is not required to carry out a full effects analysis in its cartel investigations, on the basis that cartels, by definition, have as their object the prevention, restriction or distortion of competition.

Finally, the CMA stated in its consultation document that it wanted to ensure that the policy is accessible to all businesses and individuals to whom it may be of relevance. To that end, some of the changes are designed to make the guidance more user-friendly, such as applying a more logical structure and simplifying flowcharts so they are easier to follow.

4. Next steps

The CMA has indicated that further reforms are on the horizon as it continues to implement its 4Ps framework. On 28 October it published revised guidance on merger jurisdiction and procedure. It is also currently consulting on changes to its merger remedies guidance and has said that further reforms to its merger control regime will follow.

Footnotes

1 Under the CMA's leniency policy, there are three types of leniency applicant: Type A status is accorded to the first applicant to come forward when the CMA has no pre-existing investigation into the relevant conduct; Type B status is accorded to the first applicant to come forward when the CMA does have a pre-existing investigation, provided the application is made prior to the CMA issuing a Statement of Objections; Type C status is accorded second or later applicants who come forward at any point before the CMA has issued a Statement of Objections.

2 Leniency applicants may still face private civil claims for damages. The identity of a leniency applicant will become public if the CMA publishes an infringement decision, but the CMA's guidance states that it will "firmly resist" requests for disclosure of leniency statements, or the fact that leniency has been sought, in the context of private civil proceedings. The CMA recently recommended that the UK government legislate to provide full immunity from damages liability for Type A leniency applicants. The government has not yet published the consultation outcome.

3 An additional reduction granted in relation to penalties for cartel conduct in one market because of a successful application in a second market.

4 [2021] CAT 5.

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