The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has handed a £2.5 million fine to vehicle salvage firm Copart for ignoring the regulator's orders.

It relates to the CMA's initial enforcement order issues to Copart while it checked whether its acquisition of rival Hills Motors could restrict competition in the salvage marketplace.

The CMA's investigation closed in July 2023 with a ruling that it had no concerns of anti-competition. However the regulator has found that although its initial order, imposed in August 2022, required Copart and Hills Motors to trade separately while under investigation, Copart had still conducted negotiations with three insurers on the basis of being a combined business during the period.

During the initial enforcement order (IEO), which ran from August 2022 until July 2023, Copart was restricted from doing anything which could impact the investigation, except with the prior written consent of the CMA.

It included ensuring that the Hills Motors business’s separate sales identity was maintained, and any negotiations with any existing or potential customers in relation to the Hills Motors business were carried out by the Hills Motors business alone.

The three breaches involved three requests for proposals (RFPs) for the supply of salvage and related services issued by three unnamed insurers. Specifically, each proposal was submitted as a single proposal, in Copart’s name, and was negotiated on this basis, with each proposal including the offer of an in-house recycled parts service, which could only be provided by the Hills Motors business (and not by Copart’s own pre-merger operations).

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