Seven housebuilders have pledged to pay a record £100 million to help fund affordable new homes after an investigation into whether they shared commercially sensitive information.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the developers, Barratt Redrow, Bellway, Berkeley Group, Bloor Homes, Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey and Vistry, offered the payment as part of a package of commitments to address concerns following the probe, which was launched last year.
The payment, which is set to go into affordable housing programmes across the UK, would be the largest ever secured by the CMA through commitments from firms under investigation.
The CMA will now consult on the commitments until July 24 and, if accepted, it will mean the regulator does not need to rule on whether the companies broke competition law.
It launched the probe last February amid concerns the firms were sharing commercially sensitive information, which could have impacted the development of sites and prices of new homes.
The watchdog there were signs they had exchanged details about sales including pricing, number of property viewings and incentives offered to buyers such as upgraded kitchens or stamp duty contributions.
Sarah Cardell, chief executive at the CMA, said: “Housing is a critical sector for the UK economy and housing costs are a substantial part of people’s monthly spend, so it’s essential that competition works well.
“This keeps prices as low as possible and increases choice.
“As a result of the CMA’s investigation, housebuilders are taking clear and comprehensive steps to ensure they comply with the law and don’t share competitively sensitive information with their rivals.
“Alongside these measures, the housebuilders we investigated have agreed to pay £100 million towards affordable homes programmes, which will help communities up and down the country.”
As well as the payment, the housebuilders have agreed legally-binding commitments not to share commercially sensitive information with rivals, such as the prices that houses were sold for, except in “limited circumstances”, the CMA said.
They have also agreed to work with the Home Builders Federation and Homes for Scotland to develop industry-wide guidance on information sharing.
The original probe involved eight builders, but Barratt and Redrow have since merged.
The firms said the offer of voluntary commitments does not mean they admit any wrongdoing.
FTSE 100 listed Barratt Redrow said its share of the combined payment would be £29 million.
“Barratt Redrow welcomes the CMA’s consultation on the voluntary commitments and will continue to work constructively with the CMA throughout the process,” it said.
Among other listed firms involved in the probe, Vistry said its share would be £12.8 million, while Bellway added it would pay £13.5 million.
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