What happened

The Competition and Markets Authority has fined roofing and construction firm M&J Group £25,000, its estimating director Barry Pirrie £20,000 and its office manager Tracey Woods £5,000, after finding that Pirrie instructed Woods to remove a work mobile phone and paperwork from the firm's premises during a CMA inspection. Construction News and Building reported this week that Pirrie also told CMA officers directly that he did not have a work mobile phone, when he did.

The inspection was part of the CMA's ongoing investigation into suspected bid-rigging by 12 construction firms on roofing and related work for schools, much of it funded through the Department for Education's Condition Improvement Fund. The CMA said this is the first time it has fined individuals, rather than just the company, for concealing evidence during an inspection, and signalled that fining the people involved as well as their employer is likely to become standard practice.

Why it matters

The underlying bid-rigging investigation, which the CMA opened in December 2024, is a separate matter from these evidence-concealment penalties, and it remains ongoing. But the wider context is stark: the CMA has previously said suspected collusion on public sector tenders may be adding as much as 20% to the cost of some public works contracts, and this case shows the regulator is now willing to go after individuals personally, not just the companies they work for, when it thinks evidence is being hidden.

That is a meaningful shift for anyone in a commercial or estimating role. Personal liability changes the calculation for how people behave when a regulator turns up, and firms bidding for publicly funded schools work in particular should expect closer scrutiny of how tenders are put together.

What it means for your career

If you work in estimating, bid management or commercial roles, particularly on publicly funded frameworks like the Condition Improvement Fund, this case is worth reading in full. The CMA now has a track record of fining named individuals, not just employers, for how they behave during an investigation, and that risk sits with the estimating director and office manager just as much as with the company. It is a good moment to check your own firm's record-keeping and cooperation protocols for regulatory inspections, and to understand where your personal exposure sits if a CMA officer ever walks through the door.

For candidates weighing a move into commercial or estimating leadership on public sector work, this also raises the bar on due diligence before you join a firm. Ask about how tenders are put together and whether the business has ever been part of a CMA inquiry. Compliance and probity are becoming as relevant to a commercial director's CV as pricing and negotiation skill, and firms that can show clean bidding practices will increasingly have an edge in attracting people who don't want that kind of personal exposure.