UK Law and Practice Contributed by: Samantha Ward, Ben Jasper, Ryan Byrne and Chloe Lettington, Clifford Chance LLP
Clifford Chance LLP 10 Upper Bank Street
London E14 5JJ UK
Tel: +44 207 006 8546 Fax: +44 207 006 8546 Email: samantha.ward@cliffordchance.com Web: www.cliffordchance.com
1. Introduction 1.1 Current Framework for Private Antitrust Litigation England and Wales has been a leading European juris - diction for antitrust litigation for more than 30 years. A well-regulated jurisdiction for commercial litigation, along with specialist competition judges, an expert tribunal (the Competition Appeal Tribunal, or CAT), and wide-ranging disclosure have made the UK an attractive forum for antitrust damages claims. Since the introduction of opt-out collective actions before the CAT in 2015, those claims have grown substantial - ly, with the CAT case list now recording 72 individual collective action case numbers ‒ most brought on an opt-out basis. The legislative framework for assessing competition law infringements comprises the Competition Act 1998 (the “CA 98”), as amended by the Enterprise Act 2002, and the Consumer Rights Act (CRA) 2015, which introduced collective proceedings for breaches of competition law. The CA 98 sets out: • the Chapter I prohibition, against agreements which have as their object or effect the prevention, restriction or distortion of competition; and • the Chapter II prohibition, against abuse of a domi - nant position. Claims for damages may be brought for breach of statutory duty where the Chapter I or II prohibitions have been infringed, on a standalone or follow-on basis. Since the CRA 2015, collective actions have been available in the CAT for follow-on and standalone
claims, on an opt-in or opt-out basis. Increasingly, standalone collective claims are brought for abuse of dominance, particularly against large technology companies. 1.2 Recent Developments Legislative Developments Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 On 1 January 2025, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 came into force, amend - ing the existing competition regime. For private litiga - tion, Part 2 expands the CAT’s jurisdiction to include declaratory relief. The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 also gives the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) direct enforcement pow - ers to decide whether consumer protection laws have been breached without going to court. Potential reform of the opt-out collective actions regime In 2025, the UK government consulted on the opera - tion and impact of the opt-out collective actions regime, covering funding access and its framework, the scope and certification of cases, ADR/settlement/ damages, and distribution of funds. The consultation attracted more than 100 responses focusing on these same issues. On 17 July 2026, the Department for Business and Trade published a further consultation, “Swifter and Simpler Competition Redress, Regulatory Appeals and Competition Enforcement” (the “DBT Consulta - tion”), seeking views on more substantial reforms to the collective actions regime and building on the 2025
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