The UK held the first two hearings under its new opt-out class action procedure. The precise rules governing UK class actions will be developed over time from the general guidelines in the statute.

The United Kingdom's Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) recently granted the U.K.'s first ever Collective Proceeding Order (CPO), on an "opt-out" basis, in Walter Hugh Merricks CBE v Mastercard Incorporated & Ors...

On February 21, 2025, following a three-day hearing, the Competition Appeal Tribunal approved the £200m settlement of the claim brought by Mr. Merricks on behalf of over 44 million UK consumers against Mastercard ...

Collective competition proceedings are governed by section 47B of the Competition Act 1998.

Herbert Smith Freehills LLP have published an article in Butterworths Journal of International Banking and Financial Law on the repercussions of the recent decisions in the Merricks v Mastercard litigation...

Walter Merricks CBE launched his class action against Mastercard in 2016. The claim was brought on behalf of a class of around 44 million people – anyone who purchased goods or services from any business...

2015 saw the enactment of the Consumer Rights Act (the "Act"), a piece of legislation which, in 142 pages, replaced the Sale of Goods Act 1979, Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999...

The graphic below tracks the number of competition class actions (CPO applications) filed at the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) since the introduction of a new 'opt-out' regime in the UK...

Our competition litigation team's overview of collective damages claims in competition cases in the UK has recently been published as part of Global Competition Review's new...

The High Court has rejected a judicial review challenge by litigation funder Innsworth Capital against the Competition Appeal Tribunal's distribution of settlement proceeds in the landmark Merricks v Mastercard collective proceedings. The case raises fundamental questions about how settlement funds should be allocated between class members and litigation funders, and the extent to which the Tribunal can override contractual funding arrangements to protect class interests.

The graphic below tracks the number of competition class actions (CPO applications) filed at the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) since the introduction...

Although well-established in the US, competition class actions have struggled to find their feet in the UK since being introduced by the UK Government some four years ago.

The English Courts have reignited the prospects of a £14 billion class action against Mastercard.

In September 2025, the Competition Appeal Tribunal (the CAT) ruled on how settlement funds, other than those which were earmarked for the class members in the collective proceedings concerning...

On 11 December 2020, the UK Supreme Court handed down its highly anticipated judgment in the case of Mastercard v Merricks.

While the Supreme Court's decision in Mastercard v Merricks [2020] UKSC 51 ("Merricks") set a low threshold for the granting of a Collective Proceedings Order ("CPO")...

Despite the appetite for class actions in the US and Canada, the UK has often been seen as reluctant to embrace the concept of collective proceedings and criticised in some quarters for making it difficult to pursue...

A round-up of some recent litigation cases that may be of interest.

A number of significant developments in the UK collective proceedings regime (the UK CPO regime) have marked the past several months.