The competition regulator is to launch an unprecedented economy-wide review into whether some businesses have become so powerful that they can rip off customers.
The Competition and Markets Authority has been asked by the government to produce a regular “state of competition” report to ensure that product markets are operating fairly. It will develop measures of competition to identify industries where market structures are not working.
The authority was launched in 2013 and has been taking a robust stance since Lord Tyrie became its chairman in 2018. It has blocked the £12 billion merger between J Sainsbury and Asda and intervened in both JD Sports’ planned acquisition of Footasylum and Amazon’s tie-up with Deliveroo.
Sajid Javid, the chancellor, and Andrea Leadsom, the business secretary, have