01 July 2022 
Ashley Shelbrooke, HEPA and Project Specialist
Following an investigation launched in 2019, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has provisionally found that 10 construction firms illegally colluded to rig bids for demolition and asbestos removal contracts.
The investigation provisionally concluded that the firms colluded on prices through illegal cartel agreements when submitting bids in competitive tenders for contracts.
The CMA has provisionally found that the collusion affected 19 contracts for demolition work in London and the Midlands, including contracts for the development of Bow Street’s Magistrates Court and Police station, the Metropolitan Police training centre, Selfridges, Oxford University, shopping centres in Reading and Taplow, and offices on the Southbank, London. Not all of the firms were involved in colluding in each of these contracts, and not every contractor who submitted a bid for these contracts was involved in the illegal collusion.
You can read more about the investigation on gov.uk here.
In collaboration with the CMA, HEPA ran a time to talk exploring the dangers of bid rigging in December last year. You can find all of the resources shared by the CMA for HEPA members here.
