CMA invites views on OCS/Mitie merger by 29 September

The Competition and Markets Authority has opened pre-notification engagement on the OCS/Mitie merger inquiryGOV and invited comments from any interested party between 15 September and 29 September 2026GOV. The invitation to comment is the first part of the CMA's information-gathering process: the authority has received enough information from the parties to commence pre-notification, but it has not yet formally launched its phase 1 investigationGOV. The statutory timetable marks both the phase 1 decision deadline and the inquiry launch as to be confirmed, with the case page to be updated when the formal phase 1 investigation commences.

The CMA is asking interested parties for initial views on the impact the transaction could have on competition in the United KingdomGOV. Written representations about any competition issues should be sent by the 29 September 2026 deadlineGOV to ocs.mitie@cma.gov.ukGOV, with Principal Case Officer Anushka Singh and case officers Jamie Muir and David Rotheram named as contacts.

The phase 1 test comes next. Under Part 3 of the Enterprise Act 2002, the question for a phase 1 inquiry is whether a relevant merger situation has been created or is in prospect and whether it has resulted, or may be expected to result, in a substantial lessening of competition in any UK market for goods or services — the duty to refer in sections 22 and 33, subject to exceptions for markets of insufficient importance, outweighing customer benefits, and undertakings in lieu. The invitation to comment gathers the market evidence on which that assessment will rest.

Names and contact details supplied with representations are personal data processed by the CMA as controller, in accordance with data protection law, so it can recontact contributors for its merger work under Part 3 of the Enterprise Act 2002; the page points readers to its personal information charter for how it processes personal data and their rights.

Any interested party holding views on the impact the transaction could have on competition in the United Kingdom should respond within the window. The operative source is the CMA's OCS/Mitie merger inquiry case page, with the merger reference duties in Part 3 of the Enterprise Act 2002.