Addleshaw Goddard is acknowledged as a leading presence in the regulated utility sector.

We have advised firms in telecoms, water, rail, financial services, energy, transport, postal services and healthcare, and in relation to competition enforcement and regulation (licence enforcement). We have numerous clients in the utility sector, including companies which may be regarded as dominant in their respective markets.

Following the introduction of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act, we have seen a significant increase in enforcement activity carried out by sectoral regulators (which form part of the UK Competition Network) and the emergence of new regulators with ‘concurrent’ competition law powers, including Monitor, the Financial Conduct Authority and the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR). This decentralisation of competition law enforcement has resulted in increased scrutiny of firms' conduct, particularly regulated entities and whether they may be leveraging their market power into new/emerging markets.

Experience

Our work has seen us advise:

• Clients in the water sector on ‘market opening’ (the opening up of the retail market for business customers across England and Wales)
• On competition law and regulatory matters, with major clients including a network operator in the transport sector, a mobile network operator, and a postal services network operator
• Financial services providers on payment related matters, including interchange fee regulation and others involving the PSR