Competition lawyers are gearing up for the biggest shake-up in the UK’s antitrust regime for years following confirmation today (14 October) that the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and the Competition Commission (CC) are set to merge.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) announced the move as part of the new coalition Government’s move to streamline the work of public bodies – a policy dubbed ‘the bonfire of the quangos’.