Construction Cartel Busted: Firms Hit with £60m Fines for Rigging Bids
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has smashed a massive construction cartel, slapping 10 firms with nearly £60 million in fines. The companies colluded unlawfully to rig bids for demolition and asbestos removal contracts across both public and private sector projects.
Contracts Worth Over £150m Tainted by Bid Rigging
- Illegal bid rigging involved 19 contracts valued at more than £150 million
- High-profile sites hit include the Met Police Training College, Bow Street Magistrates Court, Selfridges in London, and Oxford University
- Three company directors have been disqualified due to their involvement
The CMA’s probe uncovered that each of the 10 firms had engaged in price-fixing through shadowy cartel agreements between January 2013 and June 2018. The fines for each company are:
- Brown and Mason: £2.4m
- Cantillon: £1.92m
- Clifford Devlin: £423,615
- DSM: £1.4m
- Erith: £17.57m
- JF Hunt: £5.6m
- Keltbray: £16m
- McGee: £3.77m
- Scudder: £8.26m
- Squibb: £2m
Eight of these firms admitted their role and received reduced fines.
Directors Disqualified Over Dirty Deals
The CMA has disqualified three company directors involved in the cartel:
- David Darsey (Erith) – banned for 5 years, 10 months from February 2023
- Michael Cantillon (Cantillon) – banned for 7 years, 6 months
- Paul Cluskey (Cantillon) – banned for 4 years, 6 months
Each accepted reduced disqualification periods by voluntarily agreeing to CMA undertakings.
The Dirty Details: Cover Bidding and Fake Invoices
The cartel rigged bids by agreeing to submit deliberately uncompetitive offers, known as “cover bidding”. This shady strategy pushed up prices and slashed service quality for customers.
Worse still, five firms arranged secret compensation deals where the ‘losing’ bidders were paid off by the winners — including one payout exceeding £500,000. Some even concocted false invoices to mask their illegal doings.
CMA’s Tough Stance on Construction Cartels
Michael Grenfell, CMA Executive Director for Enforcement, said:
“The construction sector is key to our country’s prosperity, so we want to see a competitive marketplace delivering value, innovation, and quality.”
“Today’s significant fines show that the CMA continues to crack down on illegal cartel behaviour. It should serve as a clear warning: the CMA will not tolerate unlawful conduct which weakens competition and keeps prices up at the expense of businesses and taxpayers.”
“We have also secured the disqualification of certain company directors involved. Company directors must understand that they have personal responsibility for ensuring that their companies comply with competition law, and that disqualification may follow if they fail to do so.”
This sprawling investigation, launched in 2019, involved surprise inspections at 15 business sites, interviews with 35 individuals, over 120 documents requested, and a thorough sweep of emails, texts, and financial records.
Businesses wanting to dodge cartel trouble can visit the CMA’s 123.
