Annual Report shows CMA saves consumers over £2bn

17 Jul 2023 01:47 PM

UK consumers saved an estimated £8 billion over the last 3 years from action taken by the CMA to protect competition and stamp out unfair practices

• CMA saved people at least £2 billion a year on average over the last three years
• Over the three-year period to end of March 2023 the estimated direct financial benefit to consumers was £8 billion

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) yesterday published its Annual Report and Accounts for 2022/23, which shows that its actions have had a positive impact on the UK. For every £1 spent, the CMA generated £26 in financial benefits for UK consumers – up from £22.50 last year and significantly above the £10 target set by the UK Government – and saved consumers an estimated £8 billion over the last 3 years.

During 2022/23, the CMA progressed work in response to major issues faced by UK consumers – such as the rising cost of living – which included road fuel and homebuilding market studies as well as launching a project to consider supermarket food pricing.

At the end of the reported year, in March 2023, the CMA also launched its new medium-term strategy which aims to support people, businesses, and the UK economy by promoting competitive markets and tackling unfair behaviour. It has already started shaping which issues the CMA will examine to ensure that it is achieving real impact for the people we serve, particularly for people who need help the most.

The Annual Report outlines the key activities undertaken by the CMA from April 2022 to the end of March 2023, which included:

• Launching its new strategy and priorities for promoting competitive markets and tackling unfair behaviour
• Considering around 700 mergers, investigating 43 at an initial Phase 1 stage, 13 at a more in-depth Phase 2 stage and blocking just 3 due to competition concerns. The remaining Phase 2 mergers were either cleared after the CMA accepted remedies to address its competition concerns or the deals were abandoned by the businesses
• Protecting businesses and UK taxpayers by fining 10 construction firms £60million for illegally colluding to rig bids for public and private sector projects
• Conducting a market study into the road fuel sector, providing advice to the UK Government with recommendations on steps to improve outcomes and contain cost of living pressures for people across the UK
• Opening an investigation into fashion brands owned by ASOS, Boohoo and ASDA, to scrutinise their green claims and whether they could be misleading customers
• Publishing a second State of Competition report to assess how well competition is working in the UK and the impact on people and businesses
• Launching the Subsidy Advice Unit and further establishing the Office for the Internal Market, which is now supporting the successful functioning of the internal market and advising public authorities on their assessments of subsidies

Sarah Cardell, Chief Executive of the CMA, yesterday said:

Action taken by the CMA is having a real impact for people, businesses, and the UK economy with more than £2 billion being saved over this past year.

But we’re not complacent – the CMA and its staff are continuing to prioritise work in areas that matter the most, from focusing on promoting economic growth by ensuring competitive markets in a range of sectors including the fuel, food and homebuilding sectors to protecting people from unfair behaviour online and offline.

Marcus Bokkerink, Chair of the CMA, yesterday said:

The CMA’s purpose is to help people, businesses, and the UK economy by promoting competitive markets and tackling unfair behaviour. We want to ensure that people have great choices and get fair deals, businesses are able to innovate and grow without being held back by dominant incumbents or anti-competitive practices, and the economy can grow productively and sustainably.

At a time when people and businesses are facing multiple pressures, we remain completely focused on delivering tangible, positive outcomes for them.

Note to Editors:

1. The CMA’s annual report 2022/23 is online and publicly available
2. All media enquiries should be directed to the CMA press office by email on press@cma.gov.uk, or by phone on 020 3738 6460