Competition and Markets Authority

Competition and Markets Authority

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Agency overview
Formed	1 October 2013
Jurisdiction	United Kingdom
Headquarters	The Cabot, 25 Cabot Square, London, E14 4QZ
Employees	800 (approx.)
Annual budget	£75.5 million (2020/21)
Minister responsible	Secretary of State for Business and Trade
Agency executives	Marcus Bokkerink, Chair Sarah Cardell, Chief Executive
Parent department	Department for Business and Trade
Website	www.gov.uk/cma

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is a non-ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for strengthening business competition and preventing and reducing anti-competitive activities. It was established on 1 October 2013 and became fully operational on 1 April 2014, taking over many of the functions of the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and the Competition Commission.

History

The CMA was created as part of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013, which aimed to streamline and enhance the UK's competition regime. The Act merged the functions of the OFT and the Competition Commission into a single body, the CMA, to improve efficiency and effectiveness in enforcing competition law.

Functions

The CMA's primary functions include:

• Investigating mergers that could restrict competition.
• Conducting market studies and investigations in markets where there may be competition and consumer problems.
• Investigating breaches of UK or EU prohibitions against anti-competitive agreements and abuses of dominant positions.
• Bringing criminal proceedings against individuals who commit the cartel offence.
• Enforcing consumer protection legislation to tackle practices and market conditions that make it difficult for consumers to exercise choice.
• Co-operating with sector regulators and other competition authorities worldwide.

Structure

The CMA is led by a Board, which is responsible for setting the strategic direction and ensuring the delivery of the CMA's objectives. The Board is supported by the Executive, which manages the day-to-day operations of the organization.

Key Cases

The CMA has been involved in several high-profile cases, including:

• The investigation into the merger between Sainsbury's and Asda, which was blocked in 2019 due to concerns over reduced competition in the supermarket sector.
• The investigation into Facebook's acquisition of Giphy, which was ordered to be unwound in 2021 due to concerns over competition in the social media and digital advertising markets.

International Cooperation

The CMA works closely with international competition authorities, including the European Commission, the United States Department of Justice, and the Federal Trade Commission, to address cross-border competition issues and promote fair competition globally.

Also see

• Office of Fair Trading
• Competition Commission
• European Commission
• Federal Trade Commission
• Department for Business and Trade