The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is now up and running, albeit in ‘shadow form’, and will receive its full powers in April next year, taking over the combined competition powers of the OFT and Competition Commission. This change, brought in through the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013, is one of a number of changes to the UK regime. It is part of the government’s ongoing initiative to enhance the UK’s reputation as a premier jurisdiction for competition law enforcement, and to enhance the efficiency and expediency of UK proceedings.

The CMA has already indicated that it is likely to focus its attention in the first few years on, among other things, emerging sectors and business models, including online (no surprises there, given that the OFT has already declared similar goals). Given that we can expect the CMA to be more interventionist and likely to take on a greater number of investigations, it promises to be an interesting few years for those innovating with online business models. Helen Hopson and Libby Amos discuss further in “Here cometh the CMA …”