United Kingdom

The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced on Wednesday that it has opened three new consumer protection investigations into Trainline, Virgin Atlantic, and RED Driving School over concerns that mandatory fees were not included in the headline prices.[1]

Principal Changes and Implications

The European Commission today published a draft of its long-awaited revision of the Merger Guidelines, combining the 2004 Horizontal Merger Guidelines and the 2008 Non-Horizontal Merger Guidelines into a single document that takes account of the Draghi Report’s call for more dynamic, forward-looking merger control, acknowledges the benefits of scale, resilience, innovation, and global competitiveness, and suggests a greater readiness to take positive account of efficiencies. The Draft Guidelines represent a significant evolution in the Commission’s approach to mergers, although their practical implications may take time to emerge. Announcing the Draft Guidelines, Commission President von der Leyen underlined the need “to better support companies to thrive, scale and innovate … so we can meet the realities of the fiercely competitive global economy and boost our competitiveness,” while Executive Vice President Ribera emphasized the “unchanged” purpose of “protecting strong, competitive markets without allowing an accumulation of power that can be abused.” A final text of the new Merger Guidelines is expected later this year, although the principles set out in the Draft Guidelines will likely shape the Commission’s assessment of ongoing cases.

The following is part of our annual publication Selected Issues for Boards of Directors in 2026. Explore all topics or download the PDF.

Antitrust in 2025 was marked by policy developments and enforcement that, while remaining aggressive, became less overtly anti-business. The U.S. continued several Biden-era cases but became more open to settlements, while maintaining the new and more burdensome HSR merger notification form and the more aggressive and less economically focused 2023 Merger Guidelines. It also faced leadership uncertainty, particularly at the DOJ. The European Commission conducted DMA enforcement actions and launched a broad consultation on the Merger Guidelines. The UK CMA shifted toward a more restrained approach, taking greater account of growth and signaling flexibility in merger remedies. China’s SAMR began intervening in transactions below filing thresholds and continued using antitrust as a tool amid geo-political tensions.

2025 was a fascinating year for UK competition and consumer enforcement, with the CMA changing its policies and practices in a number of areas. Our Year in Review summarises the most important developments of the past year and what we expect in 2026, as the CMA implements its reworked procedures for merger and market cases, begins to use its new consumer fining powers, and imposes digital conduct requirements for the first time. We also anticipate a Government consultation on significant changes to the decision-making model for mergers and markets.