A class action is being brought against seven of the largest house builders in the UK after claims anti-competitive practices have resulted in higher prices for homebuyers.
The class action against Barratt Redrow, Bellway, The Berkeley Group, Bloor Homes, Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey and the Vistry Group, which could run to £4.5 billion, claims “UK house builders exchanged competitively sensitive information in breach of competition law and that this led to them charging higher prices for new-build homes”.
The claim is being brought by Mark McLaren, a former legal affairs manager at the consumer group Which? and now co-founder of Class Representatives Network, an organisation which “plays an active role in supporting class representatives to perform their duties effectively, and act in the best interests of their class”.
Alongside anti-competitive claims against booking.com and truck company Scania, the network lists the recent class action against Rightmove among its ongoing cases, amid claims the property portal was “abusing its dominant market position” by charging “excessive and unfair” subscription fees.
A special purpose vehicle (SPV), HOCR Ltd, has been created to make the claim, which is being funded by legal financial services company Burford Capital. HOCR Ltd is represented by Geradin Partners, with Hausfeld & Co. LLP as co-counsel.
A Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) investigation last year fined the same developers at the subject of the class action £100 million, following concerns they were exchanging details about sales including pricing, the number of property viewings and the incentives offered to buyers, such as upgraded kitchens or contributions to stamp duty.
The fine meant none of the developers admitted any liability or wrongdoing for the conduct subject to investigation.
The latest action has been launched on behalf of more than 700,000 consumers who bought new-build homes in Britain between October 2015 and June 2026. It is suggested affected homeowners could be due between £3,100 and £6,200 in compensation; a total of between £2.2 billion and £4.5 billion.
McLaren said “Buying a home is one of the most important and most expensive purchases a person will ever make. Homebuyers should be confident that the housing market is transparent and competitive so that they pay a fair price for their new home, not an inflated one.
“The CMA identified serious concerns about information-sharing between major house builders. That is why I am bringing this claim, which looks to ensure that UK homebuyers obtain compensation for harm suffered as a result of the housebuilders’ anti-competitive conduct.”
Scott Campbell, a partner at Hausfeld, said the class actions provide a route for consumer redress which would be unrealistic for individual claims “as the cost and complexity put it out of reach”.
He added: “This is a significant proposed collective claim concerning alleged anti-competitive conduct in the new-build housing market. We are pleased to be acting as co-counsel alongside Geradin Partners and to bringing to the table our expertise in collective actions as well as cartel litigation.
“With Burford Capital providing funding and with a highly experienced counsel and expert team in place, we are perfectly placed to help bring this claim.”
Patrick Teague, partner at Geradin Partners, concluded: “The CMA’s findings describe frequent exchanges of competitively sensitive information relating to achieved prices, incentives, and sales and reservation activity.
“This is the type of conduct that can distort competition and harm consumers. We look forward to supporting Mark in bringing this claim on behalf of UK homebuyers.”
The claim will be filed in Q1 2026 in the Competition Appeal Tribunal.
