The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said it had detected bid-rigging activities on projects across England worth more than £200m, including schools, hospitals and apartment blocks.
Some were found to have been involved in `cover pricing' - obtaining an artificially high price by giving a misleading impression in tenders, designed to hide a lack of real competition.
Allenbuild, which has an office in Wigan, and its parent company Renew were fined £495,245 after winning contracts worth £2,133,000 to refurbish flats in Burton-on-Trent in February, 2003, and a £412,000 deal to build a block of four offices in Nottingham in October, 2004.
Allenbuild business development director Barry Rive said: "This happened over five years ago at our regional offices in the West Midlands, which is now closed. None of the staff involved work for the company any more.
"There are now protocols in place to make sure this doesn't happen again."
Salford-based Bramall Construction, and its parent company Keepmoat, were fined £455,235 after being involved in cover pricing during bidding to build the Beacon Resource Centre in Cromwell Road, Salford, in February, 2004.
The £1,478,000 contract was won by Richardson Projects, based in Rochdale, which was fined £595,747.
Richardson was also named in a 2005 deal to build flats in Leeds, along with Rochdale-based Casey Group, which was fined £287,197 over the £921,000 contract.
Bolton-based G and J Seddon and its parent firm Seddon Group were fined £1,516,646 after it won the £691,000 deal from Doncaster-based Strata Construction, which was fined £692,285 (discounted 45 per cent for leniency after it admitted liability).
A Seddon spokesman said: "We ceased the practice of cover pricing over five years ago when it became apparent that it was no longer in keeping with competition law requirements.
"We have strict internal procedures and guidelines in place to ensure full compliance with current competition law. We have co-operated fully with the OFT throughout its inquiry and are considering our position with regard to an appeal."
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true, irlam (22/09/2009 at 12:02)
zarquon, bramhall (22/09/2009 at 12:54)
Blue Dude, Manchester. (22/09/2009 at 14:36)
Theoretically if a new hospital in Manchester is to be built that would cost £22m but if there is a cartel in which they all collude so that there is one winner then five contractors submit bids of £27m £25m £29m £31m £36m. The winning bid is £25m and we THE TAX PAYERS have to pay £25m instead of £22m there is a £3m THEFT in my opinion and the only difference between this an armed robbery is that the planning meeting took place at a motorway service station with no minutes taken, there was no guns, no stocking and no getaway cars but it is Theft. But in this country we lack the "cojones" (spanish) to put these people away.
Spleen vented !
Enjoy your day everyone....
citycentre, manchester (22/09/2009 at 20:37)