Flat-roofing contracts in the West Midlands

No. CA98/1/2004

This decision was appealed to the Competition Appeal Tribunal on 14 May 2004 (by Apex Asphalt and Paving Co. Limited) and on 11 May 2004 (by Richard W. Price (Roofing Contractors) Ltd. On the 24 February 2005 upheld the OFT's decision on liability in its entirety. For further details, see the Competition Appeal Tribunal website.

17 March 2004

The Office of Fair Trading has concluded that a number of roofing contractors (the Parties), colluded in relation to the making of tender bids in flat roofing contracts in the West Midlands thereby infringing the Chapter I prohibition contained in section 2(1) of the Competition Act 1998.

The Parties were involved in individual agreements or concerted practices each of which had as its object the fixing of prices in the market for the supply of repair, maintenance and improvement services ('RMI services') for flat roofs in the West Midlands area. When a purchaser wished to purchase RMI services for a flat roof, it typically invited a number of suitably qualified roofing contractors to submit tender bids detailing the price at which they could undertake the work specified in order to have competition for the individual contract between contractors and obtain a competitive price. The collusion in relation to the setting of tender prices had the object of preventing, restricting or distorting this competition. Different parties were involved in different numbers of contracts and the OFT has considered the collusion in relation to the tenders for each individual contract as discrete infringements.

The OFT considers that agreements or concerted practices between undertakings that fix prices by way of collusive tendering are among the most serious infringements of the Competition Act 1998. Financial penalties are therefore being imposed on all Parties, subject to the operation of the policy to give lenient treatment for undertakings coming forward with information in cartel cases.  In line with this Briggs Cladding & Roofing Limited has been granted 100 per cent leniency and Howard Evans (Roofing) Limited has been granted 50 per cent leniency and the financial penalties on them are being reduced accordingly.

The list below sets out the Parties and the penalty for each Party.  

Apex - £35,922.80
Briggs - £0 
Brindley - £55,540.80
General Asphalte - £63,192.86
Howard Evans - £35,510.25 
Price - £18,000.00
Redbrook - £17,802.90
Rio - £45,049.68
Solihull - £26,606.25

Brigg's financial penalty was reduced to zero because it was granted total immunity.  Howard Evans' financial penalty was reduced to £35,510.25 because it was granted a 50 per cent reduction from financial penalties as part of the OFT's leniency scheme.

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