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Competition watchdog blocks property data merger

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has warned that it may block the merger of two property search firms as it could lead to a worse deal for homebuyers.

The CMA launched an investigation into the acquisition of property data company TM Group by Dye & Durham last year.

Dye & Durham, an international provider of cloud-based software and technology solutions, announced the £91.5m purchase of Swindon-based TM Group in July 2021. 

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Both businesses offer property search services to clients in the UK under a variety of different brands.

The CMA said it wasn’t informed of the deal but launched its own investigation, where it has provisionally found that the acquisition “substantially lessens competition in the supply of property search services.”

The CMA’s in-depth investigation considered a wide range of evidence, including from the merging businesses’ own strategic documents and a survey of customers, as well as extensive information provided by customers, competitors and other industry players.

The CMA has provisionally found that this evidence shows that Dye & Durham and TM Group are two of the largest players in the supply of property search services in the UK and competed closely before the merger.

It also shows that the combined business would be by far the largest player in the market and face only limited competition from other suppliers. 

On this basis, the CMA is concerned that the deal could result in higher prices for property search services or lower quality services, including less innovation. 

This could result in higher fees or worse service standards for people and businesses buying or selling residential and commercial properties across the UK.

In light of this loss of competition, the CMA has also set out its initial view that the only effective way to address the issues it has identified would be for Dye & Durham to sell TM Group to a suitable buyer.

Richard Feasey, chair of the group conducting this inquiry, said: “Buying and selling property can be a challenging experience for many people and one of the most significant purchases most of us make.

“We need to ensure that fees for search reports are competitive and that we continue to see innovation in digital services to make the process easier and faster.

“By reducing competition in an already concentrated market, we have found that Dye & Durham’s purchase of TM Group could increase the costs and reduce quality in these services.”

  • Algarve  Investor

    Seems reasonable enough to me.

  • Lenny White

    It seems a bit bizaar to me given ZPG's massive acquisition strategy and all the moaning we hear about Rightmove's arguable abuse of its market leading position that leaves most agencies without any capacity to negotiate their licensing fees.

    I may be wrong though, as I know nowt about either the two organisations in question. It may also be that the CMA may have looked at ZPG & Rightmove, then tucked their tails in between their legs and bolted into the blue yonder!

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