OFT Updates its Market Studies Guidance

The OFT has published the final version of its revised guidance on market studies.  The new guidance picks up on changes to the OFT's practice and replaces the original 2004 version (and follows a period of consultation which commenced in May 2009). 

The key provisions are as follows:

• as proposed in the consultation draft, the distinction between short and full studies has been dropped.  The new guidance simply states that the average length of a market study is generally 12 months but may be less (depending on many factors including the scale and complexity of the market).  The new guidance also details the main stages of a market study project: pre-launch, launch, data collection and analysis, informal consultation on findings and final publication of the report together with any proposed remedies;