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ARTICLE · 26 MAY 2005

OFT Turns the Screw

Pinsent Masons
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Companies within the construction and construction products sectors will soon find new interest being taken in their business. Unfortunately, this interest will be not from potential customers, but from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), which has recently published its draft business plan for 2005/6.

United KingdomAntitrust/Competition Law
Guy Lougher
Guy Lougher

Originally published 23 December 2004

Companies within the construction and construction products sectors will soon find new interest being taken in their business. Unfortunately, this interest will be not from potential customers, but from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), which has recently published its draft business plan for 2005/6. The OFT promises to focus upon five priority areas for competition enforcement – one of which is the construction and house building industry, and the supply of related services. The OFT has also identified procurement by public bodies as another priority area. The investigations will affect suppliers of construction products.

Why, then, has the OFT decided to take such an interest? The OFT has stated in its plan that "Construction and housing markets … form a significant part of the workload of the [OFT's] cartels branch. They are of prime importance in many large public procurement exercises. We continue to receive many complaints from

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