Final settlements unlock first-ever opt-out compensation for UK businesses in cartel litigation
UK businesses will benefit from an opt-out class action for the first time after the final defendants in long-running litigation over car delivery charges agreed settlements worth £54 million.
The latest agreements, reached with shipping companies MOL and NYK, bring total compensation recovered for consumers and businesses to £93 million. The case is regarded as a significant milestone for the UK’s collective action regime, marking the first occasion on which damages will be distributed to businesses on an opt-out basis.
The settlements follow earlier agreements with other defendants. In December 2023, the smallest defendant, CSAV, reached a £1.5 million settlement, the first to be approved under the regime. Further settlements were agreed in January 2025, including £12.75 million with ‘K’ Line and £24.5 million with WWL and EUKOR. Distribution of the funds has been delayed pending resolution of the final claims.
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The proceedings were originally valued at around £150 million and focused on fees charged for shipping approximately 17 million new cars and vans to the UK. The vehicles were sold or leased by UK consumers and businesses between October 2006 and September 2015. The car manufacturers themselves were not defendants in the case.
Following a nine-week trial that began in January, the Competition Appeal Tribunal is expected to approve the final two settlements next month. Judgment in the substantive proceedings has been reserved.
Under the proposed distribution framework, £20 million will be guaranteed for payment as damages or, if not fully claimed, to charity. A further £12 million will be available if the guaranteed amount proves insufficient. Another £20 million has been allocated to costs, fees and disbursements, with £1.5 million earmarked to cover the costs of distribution.
The class representative, Mark McLaren, a former parliamentary and legal affairs manager at the Consumers’ Association, said he had been confident the claim would deliver substantial damages for UK consumers and businesses.
He added that the outcome demonstrated how the opt-out regime was functioning as intended, providing an effective route for recovery in cartel cases that individual claimants would have been unable to pursue alone.
Cian Mansfield, managing partner at Scott+Scott UK, which acted for the class representative, described the settlement as a landmark moment. He said it concluded the litigation and guaranteed meaningful compensation for those who paid higher shipping fees as a result of cartel behaviour.
The litigation was funded by Woodsford. Its chief investment officer, Charlie Morris, said the case illustrated the importance of the collective action regime, particularly as the Department for Business and Trade continues its review of the framework.