CMA gives Veolia and Suez five days to address competition concerns

The CMA said on Tuesday that it was concerned that Veolia and Suez are two of only a small number of suppliers active within the UK that are able to service the largest and most complex waste management contracts with councils.

"As a result, the merger could lead to higher prices and lower quality services across a range of waste management activities in the UK," it said.

If the companies do not put forward suitable proposals to address the watchdog's concerns in the next five working days, an in-depth probe will be launched.

Chief executive Andrea Coscelli said: "Councils spend hundreds of millions of pounds on waste management services. Any loss of competition in this market could lead to higher prices for local authorities, leaving taxpayers to foot the bill, and reduced innovation to achieve Net Zero targets. Everyone in the UK uses waste and recycling services in some way, it is therefore vital that this deal is subject to more detailed scrutiny if our concerns aren’t addressed.

"The CMA also identified competition concerns in several water management markets, where insufficient competition after the merger could mean that industrial customers would also have to pay higher prices."