UK Trends and Developments 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
Introduction England and Wales has been one of the leading juris - dictions for antitrust litigation in Europe for over 30 years. The combination of a well-regulated jurisdiction for commercial litigation, specialist competition judg - es and an expert tribunal (the Competition Appeal Tri - bunal, or CAT), and wide-ranging disclosure has made the UK an attractive destination for antitrust damages claims. In addition, following the introduction of opt- out collective actions before the CAT in 2015, there has been substantial growth in those claims, with the CAT case list now recording 72 individual collective action case numbers. Competition and Markets Authority Litigation Updates The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is the main competition regulator in the UK, and its respon - sibilities include investigating markets, mergers and breaches of competition law. Each year it publishes an annual plan setting out its priorities, which provides insights on how the regulator will approach its inves - tigations and antitrust litigation over the coming year. CMA 2026–2029 strategy The CMA’s 2026–2029 strategy places economic growth and household prosperity at the centre of its mission, setting out five strategic objectives: • promoting effective competition across the UK economy; • championing consumers by protecting them from harm and supporting businesses to do the “right thing” by their customers;
• helping the government deploy tailored pro-com - petition interventions to support growth, innovation and investment-related policies; • fostering a UK regulatory landscape that attracts investment and instils business confidence through its 4Ps framework of pace, predictability, propor - tionality and process; and • prioritising outcomes that deliver tangible benefits for the UK economy, its citizens and businesses. Competition enforcement remains a core component of the CMA’s 2026–2027 annual strategy. The CMA has indicated that it will focus enforcement activity on anti-competitive conduct that prevents innovative firms from entering, competing and scaling, particu - larly in strategically important sectors and markets. Public procurement will be a particular area of focus, with the CMA continuing to target bid-rigging through the use of AI and other data science detection tools. The CMA has also identified emerging risks arising from new technologies, including algorithmic pricing and potential algorithmic collusion, and has stated that it will provide guidance to businesses to help them stay on the “right side of the law” when using or offering algorithmic pricing services. It will also use its growing data, technology and AI capabilities to detect anti-competitive conduct and take enforcement action where necessary, ensuring that technological devel - opments support, rather than impede, effective com - petition. Consumer protection is another core component of the CMA’s annual strategy. Since 1 January 2025, under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consum - ers Act 2024 (“DMCCA 2024”), the CMA has enjoyed
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