Ten UK construction firms have been fined almost £60 million after being found to have illegally colluded to rig bids for demolition and asbestos removal contracts, deceiving public bodies and private clients over a five-year period.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) concluded that the firms operated a covert cartel between January 2013 and June 2018, manipulating competitive tender processes for 19 contracts worth more than £150 million.
Projects affected included high-profile developments such as Bow Street Magistrates’ Court, the Metropolitan Police Training College in Hendon, Selfridges in London, and properties linked to Oxford and Coventry Universities.
Five Years of Secret Collusion
The CMA found that the companies regularly coordinated bids to create the illusion of competition while ensuring that a pre-selected firm won the contract.
This was primarily done through “cover bidding” – where firms submitted deliberately inflated prices, slower delivery schedules, or inferior service proposals designed to lose the tender.
Such practices undermine competition, distort pricing, and can leave public bodies, private developers and ultimately taxpayers paying more for poorer outcomes.
Nearly £60 Million in Penalties
The total fines imposed amount to £59,334,957, with the largest penalties issued to firms most heavily involved in the cartel activity:
- Erith Contractors – £17.6 million
- Keltbray – £16 million
- T.E. Scudder – £8.26 million
- John F Hunt – £5.6 million
- McGee Group – £3.77 million
- Brown and Mason – £2.4 million
- Squibb Group – £2 million
- Cantillon – £1.92 million
- DSM Demolition – £1.4 million
- Clifford Devlin – £423,615
Eight firms received reduced fines after admitting their involvement and cooperating with the investigation.
The Evidence the CMA Found
The CMA’s investigation uncovered detailed and, in some cases, striking evidence of deliberate and sustained wrongdoing.
Investigators reviewed emails, text messages, handwritten notebooks, tender documents and financial records, revealing firms openly coordinating prices and outcomes.
In one example, a company shared its tender pricing with rivals and instructed them to submit bids 8–12 per cent higher, while also extending their project timelines to ensure they lost the contract.
In another exchange, a firm warned a competitor that its bid was “far too close”, stating that the price needed to “increase substantially” while the winning firm’s price would be reduced.
The CMA also found evidence of handwritten “scorecards” and notebooks listing projects alongside sums of money described as being “owed” between companies – effectively a private ledger tracking cartel arrangements.
Compensation Payments and False Invoicing
Beyond cover bidding, the investigation revealed that five firms took part in compensation arrangements where losing bidders were paid off by the winning company.
In one case, compensation exceeded £500,000. These payments were often concealed using false or misleading invoices, disguising the true nature of the transactions.
The CMA concluded that this was not isolated behaviour but part of a wider, coordinated system designed to share work and profits while excluding genuine competition.
Directors Personally Disqualified
The cartel did not only result in corporate fines. Four company directors were ultimately disqualified, with combined bans totalling nearly 25 years.
Among them:
- David Darsey, formerly of Erith – disqualified for 5 years and 10 months
- Michael Cantillon, formerly of Cantillon – disqualified for 7 years and 6 months
- Paul Cluskey, a current Cantillon director – disqualified for 4 years and 6 months
All accepted voluntary undertakings, reducing the length of their bans but formally acknowledging their role in unlawful conduct.
Projects and Institutions Affected
The cartel activity impacted sites across London, the South East and the Midlands, including:
- Bow Street Magistrates’ Court and Police Station (two contracts)
- Metropolitan Police Training and Operations Centre, Hendon
- Selfridges, London
- Oxford University (Tinbergen Building)
- Coventry Civic Centre redevelopment
- Major commercial sites at Bishopsgate, Blackfriars Road, Whitehall and Southbank
- Shopping centres in Reading and Taplow
Not every firm was involved in every contract, and not all bidders on those projects were part of the cartel.
Why This Case Still Matters
While the wrongdoing ended in 2018, the implications remain current.
Changes to UK procurement rules introduced in February 2025 mean companies involved in cartel activity now face the risk of exclusion from public contracts, in addition to fines and reputational damage.
The CMA has also made clear that directors carry personal responsibility for competition law compliance, and disqualification is no longer a theoretical risk.
The authority has described the case as intelligence-led, demonstrating its ability to uncover secret agreements through digital communications, financial trails and insider evidence.
Where the Companies Are Based
All ten firms are UK-based, with a strong concentration in London and the South East:
- Brown and Mason Group Ltd – Widnes, Cheshire
- Cantillon Ltd – London
- Clifford Devlin Ltd – London
- DSM Demolition Ltd – Birmingham / West Midlands
- Erith Contractors Ltd – Dartford, Kent
- John F Hunt Ltd – Grays, Essex
- Keltbray Ltd – London
- McGee Group (Holdings) Ltd – London
- T. E. Scudder Ltd – Kent
- Squibb Group Ltd – London / South East England