Coming clean - CMA launches consultation on updates to cartel leniency guidance

The UK leniency regime

The CMA’s leniency regime allows businesses and individuals involved in cartel activity to come forward with information and cooperate with the CMA’s investigation in exchange for reductions in or, in certain circumstances, immunity from penalties arising from any resulting infringement decision by the CMA. Cooperating individuals may receive immunity from criminal prosecution and protection from director disqualification proceedings.

Whilst leniency can provide protection against penalties arising from a CMA infringement decision, it does not protect against follow-on actions brought in relation to such a decision. However, a party with immunity will not be jointly and severally liable to pay damages arising from a cartel, except in certain circumstances.

Under this regime, the first party to come forward may receive full immunity from fines or criminal prosecution, known as ‘Type A’ immunity, while others may benefit from reduced penalties under ‘Type B’ or ‘Type C’ immunity if they cooperate fully. In order to qualify, applicants must admit their role, stop any illegal conduct and provide ongoing assistance to the CMA in its investigation.

Proposed changes

The Draft Revised Guidance proposes amendments to the CMA’s leniency guidance, which has been in place since 2013, as well as the two accompanying ‘Quick Guides’ aimed at individuals and businesses considering a leniency application.

The Consultation follows on from the CMA’s announcement of its ‘4Ps’ framework, under which it will focus on pace, predictability, proportionality and process in its approach and decision-making, in response to the government’s growth-focused draft Strategic Steer to the CMA published in February 2025.

As well as reflecting legislative changes since 2013 (including the UK’s exit from the EU, the 2014 EU Damages Directive and the 2023 Procurement Act), the Draft Revised Guidance makes a number of changes and clarifications aimed at providing greater certainty for potential applicants and encouraging leniency applications. The major changes are set out below.

• Definition of cartel activities:
  • Expanded examples: The non-exhaustive list of cartel activities in the CMA’s guidance is expanded to include wage-fixing and coordination agreements, anti-competitive information exchange (including via a third party, which could include a platform operator, shared algorithms or in some cases public announcements), restrictive arrangements such as no-poach and pay-for-delay agreements, and agreements restricting competitors’ ability or incentives to meet or exceed sustainability goals.
  • Flexibility: The Draft Revised Guidance makes clear that the CMA retains flexibility to grant leniency in respect of conduct not explicitly listed as cartel activity, and prospective applicants and their legal advisors are encouraged to obtain confidential guidance on this from the CMA.
• Process for admission of participation:
  • Delayed admission: Applicants are no longer required to admit participation in cartel activity unless and until a leniency agreement is signed, reducing upfront obligations that may discourage prospective leniency applicants. However, the Draft Revised Guidance states that applicants must not act in a way which would be inconsistent with such an admission.
• Updates to levels of protection for corporate Type B and Type C applicants:
  • Removal of upfront immunity and ‘leniency plus’ for Type B applicants: Type B applicants are no longer eligible for upfront immunity from financial penalties or ‘leniency plus’ (an additional reduction granted in relation to cartel conduct on one market because of a successful leniency application in a second market). These benefits remain available to Type A applicants, but this clarifies what can be realistically expected by Type B applicants, as the CMA has never granted these to Type B applicants in practice.
  • Clarified discounts: The Draft Revised Guidance clarifies that, in practice, discounts from fines for Type B applicants are unlikely to exceed 75% and may be significantly lower, and that discounts for Type C applicants may be significantly lower than the maximum of 50%.
  • Discretionary director immunity: Immunity from Competition Disqualification Orders (“CDO”) for directors of Type B and C corporate applicants is at the discretion of the CMA, rather than being automatic, to encourage Type A applications. The Draft Revised Guidance also clarifies the nature of the cooperation expected from directors in order to benefit from immunity from CDOs (and similarly from individuals in order to benefit from criminal immunity), providing greater predictability to individuals.
• Other changes:
  • Online application tool: The Draft Revised Guidance incorporates the SharePoint Online application tool developed by the CMA as an alternative to the oral procedure for leniency applications. This tool facilitates a more efficient and streamlined process whilst preserving the safeguards of the oral process against discovery in civil damages proceedings in other jurisdictions.
  • RPM Addendum and Regulated Sectors Information Note: The Draft Revised Guidance incorporates the CMA’s 2017 Regulated Sectors Information Note and 2020 RPM Addendum, which covers Type B leniency in Resale Price Maintenance cases.
  • Procurement Act 2023: Under the Procurement Act 2023, companies that have participated in cartels risk mandatory exclusion by a contracting authority and/or inclusion on the central debarment register, preventing them from taking part in public procurement. The Draft Revised Guidance clarifies that Type A immunity recipients (and any Type B leniency recipient that obtains a 100% reduction in penalties or discretionary criminal immunity) will benefit from automatic protection from debarment or exclusion from public procurement on competition law grounds.

These changes are aimed at providing greater predictability for potential applicants, and reflect CMA experience and policy to ensure applicants have a clearer picture of what they can realistically expect from an application for Type A, B or C immunity.

Next steps

The deadline for responses to the Consultation is 5pm on Monday 9 June 2025. After the consultation process, the CMA will publish a final version of the revised guidance, together with non-confidential versions of responses received.

If you would like to discuss any aspect of this article, including the CMA’s approach to leniency applications or UK cartel investigations more generally, please get in touch with us.

Authored by Christopher Hutton, Karman Gordon, and Eleanor Winn.