Competition and Markets Authority

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is the principal competition regulator in the United Kingdom. It is a non-ministerial government department in the United Kingdom, responsible for strengthening business competition and preventing and reducing anti-competitive activities. The CMA launched in shadow form on 1 October 2013 and began operating fully on 1 April 2014, when it assumed many of the functions of the previously existing Competition Commission and Office of Fair Trading, which were abolished. The CMA also has consumer protection responsibilities and will also be taking on new digital markets regulation responsibilities in late 2024 under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024.

The CMA is widely viewed as one of the foremost antitrust agencies in the world, alongside the European Commission, the United States Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission.

History
On 15 March 2012, the UK Government's Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) announced proposals for strengthening competition in the UK by merging the Office of Fair Trading and the Competition Commission to create a new single Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The formation of the CMA was enacted in Part 3 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013, which received royal assent on 25 April 2013.

In July 2012, Lord Currie was appointed chairman designate of the CMA, and in January 2013, Alex Chisholm was appointed Chief Executive designate. The term 'designate' was dropped when the CMA was launched on 1 October 2013.

On 15 July 2013, BIS announced the first stage of an open public consultation period and published a summary setting out the background to the consultation and inviting views on the draft guidance for the CMA. The first stage of the consultation ended on 6 September 2013. On 17 September, BIS announced the second stage of the consultation, which closed on 7 November 2013.

During 2013 and 2014, the CMA announced several waves of appointments at the director level, reporting to members of the senior executive team.

On 28 March 2014, the CMA published the Rules of Procedure for CMA merger, market, and special reference groups following a consultation which ran from 21 February to 18 March.

On 12 August 2019, the CMA's London office moved to The Cabot, 25 Cabot Square, in London's Canary Wharf area.

In 2021, the CMA announced that it would establish branch offices in Manchester and Darlington. The Manchester office would house the Digital Markets Unit, charged with "oversee[ing] a new regulatory regime for the most powerful digital firms", forming a 'Digital Hub' with the Digital Regulation Co-operation Forum. The Darlington office, part of the UK Government's Darlington Economic Campus, would be home to the Microeconomics Unit, in charge of the economic research and evaluation functions of the CMA, including production of the State of Competition report. The Microeconomics Unit is intended to complement the Bank of England's role in macroeconomics, and in July 2023 announced a research and skills-development partnership with the Durham Research in Economic Analysis and Mechanisms centre at Durham University.

Responsibilities
In situations where competition could be unfair or consumer choice may be affected, the CMA is responsible for:
 * investigating phase 1 and phase 2 mergers
 * conducting market studies and market investigations
 * investigating possible breaches of prohibitions against anti-competitive agreements under the Competition Act 1998
 * bringing criminal proceedings against individuals who commit cartel offences
 * enforcing consumer protection legislation, particularly the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Directive and Regulations
 * encouraging regulators to use their competition powers
 * considering regulatory references and appeals

Notable cases

 * Acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft
 * MyFerryLink
 * Veterinary services: an initial review undertaken in September 2023 elicited 56,000 responses from pet owners, leading to a full investigation being commenced in June 2024.
 * Veterinary services: an initial review undertaken in September 2023 elicited 56,000 responses from pet owners, leading to a full investigation being commenced in June 2024.