A survey conducted by the OFT discovered that only 15% of construction companies had even heard about the bid-rigging investigations which led to fines of £130m on 103 contractors last year.

Firms are refusing to change their working practices despite 63% of clients telling the survey that they would blacklist contractors for at least five years if they were prosecuted by the OFT.

Leaders of the OFT are keen to promote the positive findings in the survey.

These include:

• Nine in 10 construction firms now recognise that bid rigging, including cover pricing, is a serious breach of competition law with associated penalties.
• Three-quarters of contractors are aware of fines as a penalty for cover-pricing, compared to less than half in 2008.
• Approximately two in three procurers have introduced a new mechanism in the last two years to detect or prevent anti-competitive practices.