Worrying competition trends could worsen cost of living pressure - UK watchdog

Britain's competition regulator flagged "a worrying combination of trends" in markets that could worsen a cost-of-living crisis on Friday, saying companies were able to increase mark-ups in markets that were getting more concentrated.

In its second report into how well competition is working in Britain, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the level to which markets are dominated by a limited number of companies remained higher than it was before the global financial crisis. The CMA also said it had found that the biggest firms were maintaining their leading positions for longer.

"The fact that all these indicators are pointing in the same direction provides a warning sign about the state of competition in the UK," CMA's Chief Economic Adviser Mike Walker said in a statement. "We've found that the poorest households are likely to suffer the effects of these changes the most - at the very time when they are already being hit by sharp rises in the cost of essential items."