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The UK’s competition watchdog has launched an investigation into eight housebuilders over whether they have shared “commercially sensitive” information linked to the pricing of new homes.
Sarah Cardell, chief executive of the Competition and Markets Authority, said on Monday the watchdog had “opened a new investigation into the suspected sharing of commercially sensitive information by housebuilders which could be influencing the buildout of sites and the prices of new homes”.
The companies under investigation are Barratt, Bellway, Berkeley, Bloor Homes, Persimmon, Redrow, Taylor Wimpey and Vistry.
The CMA said it had not reached any conclusions on whether competition law had been infringed.
The announcement of the probe by the CMA came alongside the release of the findings of a study that it launched last year into whether the sector was constructing homes cheaply and quickly enough.
The regulator said its year-long study had found “substantial concerns” about estate management charges, “with homeowners often facing high and unclear charges for the management of facilities such as roads, drainage and green spaces”.
It also found that “the complex and unpredictable planning system, together with the limitations of speculative private development, is responsible for the persistent under-delivery of new homes”.
On the back of the study, Cardell said the CMA was recommending a streamlining of the UK’s planning system and increased consumer protections. “If implemented, we would expect to see many more homes built each year, helping make homes more affordable,” she said.
This is a developing story
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