Cartel
An illegal agreement between competing businesses to fix prices, limit production, divide markets, or rig bids. Prohibited as a civil matter under the Chapter I prohibition in the Competition Act 1998, and capable of being prosecuted as a criminal cartel offence under section 188 of the Enterprise Act 2002.
Independent editorial summary — not the official statute text. Read the official version on legislation.gov.uk.
Section 2 of the Competition Act 1998 imposes the civil “Chapter I prohibition”, under which “agreements between undertakings, decisions by associations of undertakings or concerted practices” are unlawful where they “have as their object or effect the prevention, restriction or distortion of competition within the United Kingdom” and affect trade in the UK. Cartel-type conduct sits squarely within this prohibition, which the Act applies in particular to agreements that fix prices or trading conditions, limit or control production and markets, or share markets and sources of supply between competitors; such agreements “are prohibited unless they are exempt in accordance with the provisions of this Part.”
Beyond that civil regime, participating in a cartel can also be a criminal offence for the individuals involved. Section 188 of the Enterprise Act 2002 criminalises agreements between individuals to implement cartel arrangements between competing undertakings, including arrangements which directly or indirectly “limit or prevent supply by A in the United Kingdom of a product or service,” and it extends specifically to bid-rigging: arrangements which, in response to a request for bids, “be bid-rigging arrangements” because only one competitor submits a genuine bid or the parties' bids are made according to a prior agreement between them.
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Official sources
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