Twelve building companies are being investigated by the UK competition watchdog over suspected “bid-rigging” on contracts for school repairs. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has named the firms at the centre of its months-long probe into the supply of construction services to academies. This is the first indication officials have given of the scale of the investigation – but the number of schools impacted, and the amount of public cash involved remain unclear. Probe expanded In December 2024, the watchdog opened an initial investigation into suspected bid-rigging in the government’s condition improvement fund (CIF), which provides repairs cash to academies in small trusts, sixth-form colleges and voluntary-aided schools. At the time the CMA said it had “reason to suspect that several companies providing roofing and construction services – including building contractors and technical advisers – illegally colluded to rig bids to secure contracts”. It had “particular concerns” over roofing deals. This came after the Department for Education identified “serious irregularities” in a number of successful CIF applications and withdrew funding for the projects. The …