UK market investigations

In the UK, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has the power to investigate markets to review how competition is working (or not) in a UK market or broader sector—even where there is no evidence of an infringement of UK competition law. In other words, these market reviews are not normally used by the CMA to deal with allegations that a company has breached competition law (though they may lead to possible breaches being uncovered) but rather to look at broader structural concerns.

This sub-topic contains detail on the processes for market studies and market investigations carried out by the CMA (and sectoral regulators).

NOTE—On 24 May 2024, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCC Act 2024) received Royal Assent. The DMCC Act 2024 introduces significant reforms to UK competition law (across merger control, antitrust, market studies/investigations and digital markets). This Overview will be updated to reflect the relevant changes in due course. For the key changes introduced by the DMCC Act 2024, see further, The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024: key provisions from a competition and digital markets perspective.

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