黑洞社区

The Confederation of British Industry has called on the government to deregulate mergers where turnover is less than 拢5m to stimulate growth.

The CBI set out its proposals as part of the government鈥檚 consultation on competition.

The body also said the government must drive down the cost of market investigations into failures of competition.

Matthew Fell, CBI director for competitive markets, said:

鈥淭he UK competition regime is well regarded, robust and independent, but this consultation is a chance to make the system more efficient, open up markets even more and unlock investment to create growth.

鈥淎s an immediate win, the government should deregulate small mergers where turnover is less than 拢5 million which would stimulate growth through acquisition.鈥�

Fell added: 鈥淚t鈥檚 crucial that the competition framework keeps up with fast moving markets, such as the technology-driven, creative industries sector where business models and life-cycles are rapidly changing.

鈥淢arket investigations take a long time, are resource intensive and have a chilling effect on investment, so they should not be entered into lightly or used as fishing expeditions. Instead they must be limited to clear failures of competition and be subject to strict timetables.

鈥淭he competition system must deliver timely outcomes, allow companies to invest with a high degree of certainty, and any intervention should be proportionate to the scale of the perceived problem.鈥�