Second demolition contractor to appeal level of fine handed out following bid-rigging decision

A second demolition contractor has said it is appealing the amount it has been fined by the Competition and Markets Authority for its involvement in the sector’s bid-rigging scandal.

Squibb was one of 10 firms fined a total of nearly £60m last week by the cartel-buster with the biggest fine handed out to Erith at £17.6m

Along with Erith, Essex-based Squibb was one of two firms which contested the CMA’s provisional findings last summer.

But even though the CMA cleared it of making so-called ‘compensation payments’, having initially been found guilty of doing so, the firm was hit with a £2m fine.

On the day the CMA released its verdicts last Thursday, Squibb said it was looking at “its next course of action”, claiming its fine was “disproportionate”, arguing it had been found guilty of “two acts of simple cover pricing” and adding that “it is also our understanding that the clients were not disadvantaged, and these two instances are considered to be at the low end of the scale of seriousness in terms of overall economic effect”.

In its latest statement, released yesterday, the firm, which in its most recent accounts had a £33m turnover in the year to January 2022, said it “will be initiating an appeal against the CMA’s decision”.

It added: “The focus of the appeal will, for the most part, concentrate on the background to and determination of the fine. In particular, the fact that the fine is disproportionate when seen in the context of the wider investigation and the other infringements discovered as part of the CMA investigation.

“The appeal process is expected to take in excess of 12 months and further announcements will be made by the Company as required.”

Keltbray, another firm found not to have been involved in compensation payments, has already said it will be appealing its £16m penalty, arguing that its fine is too high as well.

It added: “Keltbray did not instigate any infringement activity or benefit financially from the infringements, and therefore believes the intended penalty is excessive when compared to Keltbray’s level of involvement, particularly when compared to the malpractices of other organisations who did benefit financially from their activities.”

As well as Erith, those firms found guilty of making compensation payments were Brown and Mason, Cantillon, McGee and Scudder which has since been discontinued by its parent Careys.

Three directors were also banned following the probe, the CMA added. David Darsey, a former managing director of Erith, who joined the firm in the late 1980s, and is a previous president of the National Federation of Demolition Contractors, has been banned for 5 years and 10 months, Cantillon founder Michael Cantillon has been banned for 7 years and 6 months and Paul Cluskey, since 2014 managing director of Cantillon, has been banned for 4 years and 6 months.

Two other firms involved in the scandal have made public comments on last week’s news. McGee, fined £3.8m, said it considered the matter “concluded” while John F Hunt said this week it would pay its £5.6m fine “at the earliest opportunity with free cash that had already been set aside”.

The remaining firm involved in bid-rigging was DSM.