The Competition and Markets Authority broke up the cartel after one of the agents, Romans in Wokingham, in south-west England, blew the whistle on the longstanding local practice. A similar cartel was uncovered in Somerset two years ago, and the latest case will raise fears about the broader scale of price-fixing by estate agents across the UK. In each of the towns they were the leading estate agents at the time. Michael Grenfell, of the CMA, said: “It is disappointing we’ve found yet another case of estate agents breaking competition law. Richard Worth, described on its website as “a multi-award-winning company … assessed as amongst the top estate agents in the country”, was fined £193,911.

Source: The Guardian December 17, 2019 14:45 UTC