Morning, Thursday, 16th July 2026
Online
This conference will focus on next steps for UK competition and market regulation.
It will bring stakeholders and policymakers together to discuss potential approaches to refining the UK competition regime, with the Department for Business and Trade considering responses to the recent Refining Our Competition Regime consultation, alongside the Strategic Steer to the Competition and Markets Authority and the CMA’s Strategy: 2026-2029.
Delegates will assess how proposals might maintain business and investor confidence, including changes to the CMA’s statutory duties, enhanced flexibility in investigations, and reform to decision-making timelines. The CMA’s approach to prioritisation will also be discussed, as well as options for greater certainty around merger investigations, the balance between accountability and independence, and next steps for the operation and implementation of remedies in practice.
Market Remedies Regulatory Review & merger reviews
Sessions will look at the CMA’s ongoing programme of regulatory reform, including the Market Remedies Regulatory Review and consultation on proposed changes to its merger remedies approach in CMA87.
Delegates will also examine the CMA’s Mergers Charter and its implications for how firms engage with the authority during merger reviews, as well as how streamlining the markets regime may reduce review times, and how greater flexibility in the concurrency framework might work in practice in sectors with active economic regulators.
Intervention & strengthened investigatory powers for the CMA
Application of competition policy in specific markets will be discussed. Attendees will consider sector-specific interventions in terms of addressing persistent competition concerns, as well as the balance between regulatory intervention and market-led solutions. Enforcement priorities and strengthened investigatory powers for the CMA will be discussed, including the deployment in practice of those relating to algorithms, as well as strategic approaches to co-ordination across competition and consumer protection tools. Delegates will also explore how competition policy might best support innovation, investment, and growth across the economy, including the role of regulatory clarity, proportionality and international alignment, and implications for businesses operating across multiple jurisdictions as the regime continues to develop.
Overview of areas for discussion
- policy:
- implementation of proposals set out in DBT’s Refining Our Competition Regime consultation - translating reforms to statutory duties, investigatory flexibility and decision-making timelines into practical changes in enforcement
- the Government’s Strategic Steer and the CMA’s Strategy: 2026-2029 - implications for prioritisation, proportionality and supporting growth
- regulatory reform & remedies:
- the CMA’s Market Remedies Regulatory Review - improving the design, implementation and monitoring of remedies while reducing unnecessary burdens on business
- proposed changes to merger remedies in CMA87 - strengthening effectiveness and proportionality of structural and behavioural remedies and implications for transaction planning and execution
- process and engagement - implications of the CMA’s Mergers Charter for predictability, transparency and business engagement during investigations
- competition in practice:
- application of competition policy in specific markets - lessons from the CMA’s provisional findings
- addressing market failures - implications of interventions, such as the ban on ticket touting for pricing practices and market functioning
- digital markets & consumer protection:
- implementation of the digital markets regime - implications of the CMA’s designation of strategic market status in search services and use of new regulatory tools
- online pricing practices and consumer protection - priorities arising from the CMA’s consumer protection programme and expectations for compliance in digital markets
- enforcement, proportionality & business impact:
- reconciling robust enforcement with reduced regulatory burden - implications of proposed reforms for speed, predictability and proportionality of investigations
- consistency across competition and consumer regimes - aligning approaches to enforcement, remedies and supervision across different tools and sectors
- global context & economic growth:
- international alignment and competitiveness - how the UK’s evolving competition regime compares with other jurisdictions - implications for cross-border business
- supporting innovation and investment - the role of competition policy in enabling dynamic markets, scaling firms and long-term economic growth
