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Seven of the UK’s biggest housebuilders have agreed to pay a total of £100mn after an investigation by the country’s competition regulator into information sharing between the companies.
The Competition and Markets Authority said on Wednesday that the companies had offered to make the payments after it unearthed evidence last year that commercially sensitive information, including on prices, had been transmitted between companies.
The seven housebuilders — Barratt Redrow, Bellway, Berkeley Group, Bloor Homes, Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey and Vistry — had “agreed to legally binding commitments which will prevent anti-competitive behaviour and promote industry-wide compliance”, the CMA said.
The commitments include working with industry groups to develop guidance on information sharing and an agreement to limit the types of details that can be transmitted between housebuilders, including the prices for which houses have been sold.
The £100mn would be paid to affordable housing programmes across the UK, the CMA said.
The regulator will consult the public on the proposed payment and other commitments before deciding whether to proceed with the plan.
Sarah Cardell, chief executive of the CMA, said: “Housing is a critical sector for the UK economy and housing costs are a substantial part of people’s monthly spend, so it’s essential that competition works well. This keeps prices as low as possible and increases choice.”
The CMA did not make any formal finding of wrongdoing against the companies.
Persimmon, which offered to pay £15.2mn, said it welcomed the CMA’s proposal to accept the commitments and close the investigation, noting that the regulator had not made any finding that it had breached competition law.
Bellway said its share of the proposed payment came to £13.5mn, adding that this “does not constitute an admission of any wrongdoing”.