Competition keeps you out of trouble

摘要

Last month the Office of Fair Trading announced fines totalling ￡129.5 million against the firms found guilty of breaches of competition law. Our experts at Pinsent Masons explain the requirements of competition law placed on bidders in the public procurement process, and assess measures the industry is taking to prevent future breaches. In the July 2007 edition of Highways, we reported on the OFT's investigation into anti-competitive practices in the construction industry and the OFTs willingness to receive leniency applications from the highway maintenance sector. On 17 April 2008, the OFT issued a Statement of Objections against 112 construction firms for anti-competitive behaviour and on 22 September this year the OFT imposed fines totalling ￡129.5 million on 103 of those firms. This marked the culmination of OFT investigations which began in 2004.