Following a Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) investigation – Fourfront, Loop, Coriolis, ThirdWay and Oakley have agreed to pay fines totalling over £7m after admitting being involved in cartel behaviour
Each company has admitted to breaking competition law at least once during the period of 2006 – 2017, in some cases on multiple occasions. Also, they have all admitted to participating in “cover bidding” in competitive tenders, colluding on the prices they would bid for contracts.
Typically, cover bidding involves companies agreeing with each other to place bids that are deliberately intended to lose the contract, thereby reducing the intensity of competition. This type of illegal behaviour can lead to customers paying an artificially inflated price or receiving poorer quality services.
These cover bids affected 14 contracts with a variety of customers, ranging from a City law firm to a further education college.
Andrea Coscelli, the CMA’s Chief Executive, said: “The CMA is concerned it is seeing a lot of evidence of anti-competitive conduct in the construction industry, and we have already taken a number of cases in this sector. Today’s fines reinforce the message that the CMA will not tolerate competition law being broken.”
Any business found to have infringed the Competition Act 1998 can be fined up to 10% of its annual worldwide group turnover, and directors of the companies concerned can be banned from holding directorships for up to 15 years.
The 5 companies have formally admitted that their actions constituted a breach of competition law. They have therefore agreed to pay the following fines that reflect a number of factors including the companies’ size and financial position, and their role in the cartel behaviour:
- Fourfront has agreed to pay £4,143,304
- Loop has agreed to pay £1,090,816
- Coriolis has agreed to pay £7,735
- ThirdWay has agreed to pay £1,780,703
- Oakley has agreed to pay £58,558
