Christopher Hutton is a partner in Hogan Lovell’s Antitrust, Competition and Economic Regulation practice, based out of London. He advises on all aspects of UK and EC competition law, and has represented clients on a broad range of contentious matters (including High Court litigation, cartel investigations and abuse of market power inquiries), market investigations, market power assessments and transactional matters (including mergers, joint ventures and other commercial arrangements). Christopher advises clients in a range of industries, including professional services, retail, financial institutions and regulated utilities. He represents clients before the European and UK courts and competition authorities, and advises on a broad range of compliance issues.
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On 25 April 2023, the Government published the long-anticipated draft Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill (the Bill), consolidating the results of two consultations launched in July 2021. If enacted, the Bill will introduce a broad range of competition and consumer law reforms, as (...)
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On 25 April 2023, the UK Government published the long-awaited draft Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill (the “Bill”). The Bill will introduce a broad range of reforms (including in respect of competition and consumer law). In relation to digital markets, the Bill fleshes out a (...)
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The CMA has concluded that a merger between the two largest suppliers of ready to bake products to UK grocery retailers should be unwound, highlighting the risks of choosing to complete mergers without first receiving CMA clearance. On 20 January 2023, the UK Competition and Markets (...)
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The European Commission has adopted guidelines addressing the application of EU competition law to the "solo self-employed". The guidelines clarify situations in which certain self-employed individuals may work collectively to seek improvements in working conditions without falling foul of (...)
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The UK Government this week prohibited the acquisition of intellectual property owned by the University of Manchester by a Chinese company – marking the first time the UK Government has exercised its powers to block a transaction under new national security rules. On 20 July 2022, the UK’s (...)
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The UK Government recently announced a series of reforms for strengthening the UK competition regime, including measures that will increase penalties for non-compliance, speed up antitrust investigations and permit better scrutiny of certain mergers – in particular, ‘killer acquisitions’ (...)
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In what could herald the most significant changes to the UK competition regime in 25 years, the UK Government has announced a series of proposed reforms to UK competition law enforcement. The stated aims of the reforms are to produce a “best in class” competition regime to allow the UK to (...)
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On 20 July 2021, the government launched a consultation containing substantial proposals that could herald the most important reform of the UK competition regime in 25 years (the consultation). The proposals follow multiple reports and papers and, if they survive the consultation process, (...)
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The UK Government is consulting on proposed powers for the recently launched Digital Markets Unit. This is a significant juncture in the reconfiguration of the post-Brexit regulatory landscape, marked by a determination to be a world leader in the regulation of digital markets. This (...)
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The UK’s much publicised National Security and Investment Bill has now been granted Royal Assent – passing into law an Act which will significantly affect the way investments in the UK can be reviewed by the Government where they raise national security considerations. The Act introduces a (...)
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The UK Government has launched the much anticipated Digital Markets Unit (DMU) as a first step towards an “unashamedly pro-competition" regime focused on the position of “tech giants”. The DMU will, however, initially lack its own enforcement powers and there is still a lot to play for in (...)
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On 6 January 2021, the European Commission published an "Inception Impact Assessment" seeking feedback on an initiative aimed at defining EU competition law’s scope of application to "self-employed" workers (in advance of an open public consultation anticipated for spring 2021). This is part (...)
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Competition/antitrust laws generally require rival firms to operate on the market independently of each other and tolerate cooperation between competitors only in limited circumstances where any resulting loss of competition is clearly offset by consumer benefits. But as businesses scramble to (...)
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UK flexes its criminal enforcement muscle* In a move that signals that UK criminal cartel enforcement is set to increase, Peter Nigel Snee appeared on 27 January 2014 at Westminster Magistrates’ Court to face charges under the UK’s criminal cartel offence. Mr Snee has been charged under (...)
