Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

UK competition law: CMA Phase 2 clearance (failing firm), private dentistry market study, Court of Appeal on water CPO and confidentiality rings, new Apple/Amazon collective action

Published on: 05 March 2026

Published by a LexisNexis Competition expert

Legal News

Article summary

Mergers Constellation Developments Limited/ABVR Holding Limited cleared after phase 2; failing firm defence accepted

The CMA has published its final phase 2 report, granting conditional clearance to the already-completed purchase by Constellation Developments Limited (Constellation) of ABVR Holdings Limited (Aston Barclay), following an in-depth inquiry. Constellation sits within a broader group involved in used-car remarketing and retail throughout the UK and Europe. It owns British Car Auctions Limited (BCA), a business-to-business (B2B) auction platform for used vehicles, and We Buy Any Car Limited (trading as webuyanycar), a consumer car-buying service. Aston Barclay likewise provides B2B vehicle auction services in the UK and runs a car-buying operation via The Car Buying Group. The CMA upheld its provisional view that the deal has not led, and is unlikely to lead, to a substantial lessening of competition in the supply of B2B used vehicle auction services in Great Britain. While it found the parties to be close rivals and recognised that Aston Barclay placed a significant competitive constraint on BCA, the CMA determined that, without the transaction, Aston Barclay would probably have exited the market, supporting its acceptance of the failing firm defence...

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