FP McCann facing 拢25m fine for part in price fixing cartel
- Published
The case was investigated by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
A leading Northern Ireland company is facing a 拢25m fine for its part in a price fixing cartel.
FP McCann, a major supplier of concrete products, was found to have broken competition law.
The case was investigated by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
FP McCann said it was "very disappointed" with the decision, adding that it would be "robustly" appealing it.
It said it had co-operated fully with the investigation.
'Disappointed'
"FP McCann Ltd is very disappointed with this decision of the Competition and Markets Authority and will be robustly appealing this decision," it said.
"FP McCann is committed to compliance with competition law and serving the interests of its customers."
The CMA said that for almost seven years, FP McCann and two other firms agreed to fix or co-ordinate their prices.
The other two firms, Derbyshire-based Stanton Bonna Concrete and Somerset-based CPM Group, face fines of more than 拢7m and 拢4m respectively.
From July 2006 to March 2013, the firms agreed to fix or co-ordinate their prices, shared the GB market by allocating customers and regularly exchanged competitively sensitive information.
These arrangements involved meetings attended by senior executives from each of the firms.
The CMA recorded a number of these meetings and used them as evidence when arriving at its final decision.
Last year, Stanton Bonna Concrete Ltd and CPM Group both accepted that they broke competition law by engaging in these arrangements.
Accordingly, under the CMA's provisions for leniency and settlement processes, they have received reductions to their fines.
Andrea Coscelli, the CMA's chief executive, said: "These companies entered into illegal arrangements where they secretly shared out the market for important building products and agreed to keep prices artificially high.
"This is totally unacceptable as it cheats customers out of getting a good deal.
"The CMA will not hesitate to issue appropriately large fines in these cases and we will continue to crack down on cartels in the construction sector and in other industries."