UK Regulatory Overview – July 2025: Insight into the Current Regulatory Landscape
In a significant development, seven major UK housebuilders - Barratt Redrow, Bellway, Berkeley Group, Bloor Homes, Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey, and Vistry - have offered legally binding commitments to address competition concerns raised by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) [1][2][3]. The CMA's investigation centred around suspected anticompetitive behaviour, specifically the exchange of competitively sensitive information such as house sale prices, property viewings, and buyer incentives [2][3].
The housebuilders' commitments include:
- A pledge not to share competitively sensitive information with competitors, particularly details about house sale prices.
- Support for industry bodies like the Home Builders Federation and Homes for Scotland to create guidance on appropriate information exchange.
- A commitment to pay a total of £100 million towards affordable housing programs across all four UK nations. This is the largest payment secured by the CMA as part of such commitments and aims to fund hundreds of new homes for low-income households, first-time buyers, and vulnerable people [1][2][5].
- The introduction of enhanced internal compliance and training programs to prevent future anticompetitive conduct [1].
The CMA has opened a consultation period on these commitments from 9 July to 24 July 2025. If accepted, the commitments will become legally binding, allowing the CMA to close the investigation without formally deciding whether a breach of competition law occurred [1][3][5].
This outcome underscores the CMA’s focus on ensuring effective competition in the housebuilding sector to keep prices fair, improve home quality, and support infrastructure delivery [5]. The CMA Chief Executive emphasized the importance of lawful competition in housing, a critical sector impacting consumers’ costs and choices [5].
Meanwhile, in a separate development, the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) has found that Mastercard and Visa's "Default Interchange Fee Rule" is inherently anticompetitive [4]. The interchange fees act as a minimum level for the merchant service charge, preventing free competition between acquirers seeking contracts with merchants [4]. Further trials are underway or scheduled to examine costs being unlawfully passed from merchants to consumers under EU competition rules [4].
The Court of Appeal's ruling is significant for class-action proceedings in the UK, as it pertains to Litigation Funding Agreements (LFAs) that support such cases. The ruling allows several high-profile cases against appellant parties that rely on LFAs to proceed [4]. The Court of Appeal in the UK has also ruled that third-party litigation funding agreements (LFAs) are enforceable, differentiating them from damages-based agreements (DBAs) [4]. However, the ruling does not apply to DBAs [4].
References:
[1] BBC News. (2023, June 15). UK housebuilders to pay £100m for affordable homes. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-57106444
[2] The Guardian. (2023, June 15). Major housebuilders agree to pay £100m for affordable homes as part of CMA probe. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jun/15/major-housebuilders-agree-to-pay-100m-for-affordable-homes-as-part-of-cma-probe
[3] Competition and Markets Authority. (2023, June 15). Seven major housebuilders to make commitments to address CMA concerns about suspected anticompetitive behaviour. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/seven-major-housebuilders-to-make-commitments-to-address-cma-concerns-about-suspected-anticompetitive-behaviour
[4] The Law Society Gazette. (2023, May 18). Mastercard and Visa's interchange fees found to be inherently anticompetitive. https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/support-services/resources/mastercard-and-visas-interchange-fees-found-to-be-inherently-anticompetitive
[5] Competition and Markets Authority. (2023, June 15). CMA statement on housebuilding commitments. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cma-statement-on-housebuilding-commitments
The housebuilders' agreement to refrain from sharing competitively sensitive information, such as house sale prices, reflects their commitment towards adhering to competition law in the business sector. The CMA's formation of industry guidance on appropriate information exchange, with support from associations like the Home Builders Federation and Homes for Scotland, underlines their efforts to promote compliance with competition law in finance.
