Construction cartel directors disqualified

Two former directors of pre-cast concrete drainage products manufacturer FP McCann have been disqualified for their roles in an illegal cartel.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) secured the disqualification of Eoin McCann and Francis McCann after a 2019 decision that FP McCann along with Stanton Bonna Concrete and CPM Group infringed competition law.

The CMA found that, from July 2006 to March 2013, the suppliers agreed among themselves to fix or coordinate their prices, shared out the market by allocating customers and exchanged with each other competitively sensitive information. FP McCann appealed against the decision, but in December 2020 the CMA’s determination was upheld by the Competition Appeal Tribunal. 
 
Eoin McCann will be disqualified for 12 years and Francis McCann for 11 years, the longest period for director disqualification secured by the CMA to date. The disqualifications will commence on 31 March. 
 
Michael Grenfell, executive director of Enforcement at the CMA, said: “The length of these disqualification periods reflects the seriousness of this case.  

“The CMA will continue to take strong action, where necessary, to protect the public from illegal anticompetitive practices. The message to directors is clear – you are personally responsible for ensuring that your company complies with competition law, and if it doesn’t you risk disqualification.” 
 
These disqualifications follow the disqualification of Philip Stacey and Robert Smillie, who were previously directors of CPM, in April 2019. They bring the total number of disqualifications, as a result of CMA investigations, to 25.