The Competition and Markets Authority has closed its investigation into an estate agents’ “cartel” case relating to the advertising of fees.

However, the final chapter has not quite ended.

The CMA said the full decision will be published “in due course following the redaction of commercially sensitive information”.

The three agents concerned, two independents and a Countrywide firm, have agreed to introduce new compliance programmes. As a result, they are paying discounted penalties.

The CMA’s final report confirms that the three agents belonging to an association, the association itself, and a newspaper publisher infringed competition law.

The association was formed specifically to negotiate preferential advertising rates in newspapers, according to Countrywide.

The CMA has imposed total penalties of over £735,000 – down from the £775,000 figure initially announced.

The agents, all in Fleet, Hampshire, are Castles, Countrywide firm Hamptons, and Waterfords, all members of Three Counties Estate Agents.

The newspaper publisher is Trinity Mirror Southern, which publishes the Surrey & Hants Star Courier.

Hamptons was fined £582,455, down from what could have been £647,172 after discounts; and parent company Countrywide has been fined £349,473 after discounts.

Trinity Mirror has been fined £91,257.

Waterfords has been handed a discounted penalty of £46,186 – a figure slightly lower than the £46,524 announced in March, “reflecting the submission of revised turnover figures and the application of a compliance discount”.

Castles has been penalised £17,348, and Three Counties itself £90.

The CMA’s statement says that between July 2005 and January 2014, the newspaper had not allowed agents to advertise their fees or discounts.

Three Counties’ membership rules prohibited the association’s members from advertising their fees or discounts in the paper.

The CMA said it “found that these arrangements had the object and potential effect of reducing competitive pressure on estate and lettings agents’ fees in the local area in and around Fleet in Hampshire.

“In addition, they may have made it harder for potential competitors to enter the market by using the level of their fees to attract new customers.

“These practices potentially limited consumers’ choice and ability to compare prices and assess value for money.”

The CMA said in its latest update: “Waterfords and Hamptons International, and its parent companies Countrywide plc and Countrywide Group plc, have now decided to introduce company-wide competition law compliance programmes, which include commitment by senior management to, and accountability for, future competition law compliance.

“In doing so they have taken certain steps to identify and assess potential competition law risks, sought to mitigate the risks becoming reality, and committed to regularly review the effectiveness of the programmes.

“The CMA has treated this as a mitigating factor, meriting a 5% discount to their penalties before the application of the settlement discount.”

Eye carried the original story here

The CMA press release is here

We continue to understand that similar investigations are being carried out elsewhere.