⚖️ UK CMA Competition & Consumer Case Change Watch

Competition and Markets Authority cases as they move: merger inquiries opening, merger outcomes landing, consumer-enforcement action, Competition Act and cartel investigations, digital-markets designations, subsidy referrals, market studies and investigations, and reviews of existing orders and undertakings. Each delta is typed and you choose which types you want. Keyed on the CMA case page. Investigation cases are reported as investigations — the actor never states or implies a finding the CMA has not published.

Output is one cma_case_record row per result; billing is pay-per-event, the value event being one source check (a $0.02 start fee per run, then $0.10 per source check plus one $0.10 source check per run that reads the source). Source: www.gov.uk.

📊 Sample Output

Real rows from run dMN0O6LgrQNdOQQhu on build 0.1.10 (2026-09-17), the same input as the Quick start below — every value is as the source published it (emails masked, long text shortened):

case_page	title	market_sector	opened_date	finding_status	parties
/cma-cases/mccormick-slash-unilever-merger-inquiry	McCormick / Unilever merger inquiry	food-manufacturing	2026-07-21	no-finding-investigation-open	["McCormick", "Unilever"]
/cma-cases/ocs-slash-mitie-merger-inquiry	OCS / Mitie merger inquiry	distribution-and-service-industries	2026-09-15	no-finding-investigation-open	["OCS", "Mitie"]
/cma-cases/seras-slash-enva-dedicated-waste-wood-business-merger-inqui	Seras / Enva (dedicated waste wood business) merger inquiry	distribution-and-service-industries	2026-04-21	merger-cleared-phase-1	["Seras", "Enva (dedicated waste wood business)"]
/cma-cases/co-operative-group-slash-southern-co-operative-merger-inqui	Co-operative Group / Southern Co-operative merger inquiry	retail-and-wholesale	2026-06-04	no-finding-investigation-open	["Co-operative Group", "Southern Co-operative"]
/cma-cases/eon-slash-ovo-merger-inquiry	E.ON / OVO merger inquiry	utilities	2026-07-08	no-finding-investigation-open	["E.ON", "OVO"]
/cma-cases/the-brinks-company-slash-ncr-atleos-corporation-merger-inqu	The Brink’s Company / NCR Atleos Corporation merger inquiry	financial-services	2026-05-20	no-finding-investigation-open	["The Brink’s Company", "NCR Atleos Corporation"]
/cma-cases/danone-slash-huel-merger-inquiry	Danone / Huel merger inquiry	food-manufacturing	2026-05-27	no-finding-recorded	["Danone", "Huel"]
/cma-cases/nrg-fleet-services-slash-specialist-fleet-services-merger-i	NRG Fleet Services / Specialist Fleet Services merger inquiry	distribution-and-service-industries	2026-08-10	no-finding-investigation-open	["NRG Fleet Services", "Specialist Fleet Services"]

The run finished with the status message: NORMAL: emitted 10 item(s)

✅ What you get

Each row is flat JSON with these fields (from the dataset schema and the sample run; a field the source does not publish for a given row is null):

• record_key (string/null) — e.g. cma:/cma-cases/mccormick-slash-unilever-merger-inquiry
• case_page — e.g. /cma-cases/mccormick-slash-unilever-merger-inquiry
• case_url — e.g. https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/mccormick-slash-unilever-merger-inquiry
• title — e.g. McCormick / Unilever merger inquiry
• case_type — e.g. mergers
• case_state — e.g. open
• market_sector — e.g. food-manufacturing
• opened_date — e.g. 2026-07-21
• closed_date — e.g. 2026-09-03
• outcome_type — e.g. mergers-phase-1-clearance
• finding_status — e.g. no-finding-investigation-open
• states_adverse_finding — e.g. False
• parties — e.g. ["McCormick", "Unilever"]
• record_type (string) — e.g. cma_case_record
• delta_type (string/null) — null in every sample row
• delta_kinds (array/null) — null in every sample row

⚙️ Sample inputs

1. Quick start — the Store example (this is what the sample above came from)

{
  "delta_types": [
    "merger-inquiry-open",
    "merger-outcome"
  ],
  "market_sectors": [],
  "state": "both",
  "max_items": 10,
  "watch_mode": false,
  "baseline_id": "default"
}

The sample run charged exactly: 1 × $0.02 apify-actor-start + 1 × $0.10 source-check = $0.12 on the Free tier — every delivered row was billed.

2. A smaller, narrowed run

{
  "delta_types": [
    "merger-inquiry-open",
    "merger-outcome"
  ],
  "market_sectors": [],
  "state": "both",
  "max_items": 5,
  "watch_mode": false,
  "baseline_id": "default"
}

Caps the run at 5 rows — about $0.62 on the Free tier ($0.02 start + $0.10 source check + 5 × $0.10). state narrows what the source is asked for.

3. Watch mode on a schedule

{
  "delta_types": [
    "merger-inquiry-open",
    "merger-outcome"
  ],
  "market_sectors": [],
  "state": "both",
  "max_items": 10,
  "watch_mode": true,
  "baseline_id": "default"
}

The first run seeds a private baseline and emits zero deltas; every later run emits one row per change, billed at $0.10 each plus the $0.10 source check; billed deltas are capped at 500 per run.

🧾 JSON sample record

One real record from run dMN0O6LgrQNdOQQhu, exactly as it lands in the dataset (emails masked, long text shortened):

{
  "record_key": "cma:/cma-cases/mccormick-slash-unilever-merger-inquiry",
  "case_page": "/cma-cases/mccormick-slash-unilever-merger-inquiry",
  "case_url": "https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/mccormick-slash-unilever-merger-inquiry",
  "title": "McCormick / Unilever merger inquiry",
  "case_type": "mergers",
  "case_state": "open",
  "market_sector": "food-manufacturing",
  "opened_date": "2026-07-21",
  "closed_date": null,
  "outcome_type": null,
  "finding_status": "no-finding-investigation-open",
  "states_adverse_finding": false,
  "parties": [
    "McCormick",
    "Unilever"
  ],
  "record_type": "cma_case_record",
  "schema_version": "1.0",
  "output_mode": "preview",
  "preview_cap": 25,
  "preview_truncated": 0
}

🔧 How it works

Transport. Plain HTTPS from the Apify platform, no proxy. Every request carries an identified contact User-Agent.

Charging. Each source check is charged at the moment it is pushed (source-check); a row that fails to charge is not delivered, so the dataset count always equals the charged count. One source-check is charged per run that actually read the source.

Source

gov.uk Search API, CMA case records (public, logged-out)

• https://www.gov.uk/api/search.json?filter_format=cma_case

Public, logged-out only — no API key, login, cookie or CAPTCHA.

The eight delta types

value	case family
merger-inquiry-open	a merger inquiry appears or opens
merger-outcome	a merger case gains an outcome or closes
consumer-enforcement	consumer-enforcement case movement
cartel-investigation	Competition Act, civil/criminal cartel and director-disqualification cases
digital-markets-status	Digital Markets Unit case movement
subsidy-referral	Subsidy Advice Unit referral movement
market-study	market study and market investigation movement
remedy-review	review of existing orders and undertakings

Leave delta_types empty for all eight. Every delta carries delta_kinds.

How this actor talks about investigations

An open Competition Act or cartel case is an investigation, not a finding. This actor is built so it cannot say otherwise:

• finding_status is read from an explicit map of every outcome value the CMA corpus contains. An unrecognised outcome reports no-finding-recorded-unmapped-outcome — it is never pattern-matched into a status.
• states_adverse_finding is true for exactly four published outcomes: Chapter I infringement, Chapter II infringement, a disqualification order granted, and a consumer-law court order.
• No party names are extracted from investigation or enforcement cases. Merger titles are structured, so merger parties are listed; a cartel case carries its title verbatim and an empty parties list.
• A criminal-cartel verdict is reported as a verdict. The source does not say which way it went, so neither does this actor.
• Commitments, undertakings, no-grounds-for-action and administrative-priorities closures all report explicitly as not findings.
• Investigation cases without a published adverse finding carry a language_note saying so.

Snapshot mode is a PREVIEW

watch_mode: false returns at most 25 records, hard-capped in code.

Watch semantics

First watch run seeds and emits zero deltas. Billed deltas capped at 500 per run. A truncated read suppresses REMOVED rather than reporting a case as withdrawn.

Terminal states

NORMAL · SUCCEEDED-0: GENUINE_EMPTY · SUCCEEDED-0 (no change) · PARTIAL · BLOCKED.

What is not done. No login, no cookie or CAPTCHA bypass, no private or personal-account data, no browser automation.

⏰ Set it on a schedule

A single run is a snapshot. The value is the feed: open the actor in Apify Console → Schedules → Create new, add this actor with input 3 above (watch_mode: true), and pick a cadence:

• Daily — 0 7 * * * (07:00 UTC): catch changes within a day.
• Weekly — 0 7 * * 1: a Monday digest.

The baseline persists in a named key-value store between runs, so every scheduled run compares against the last one; use a different baseline_id for independent watches. Schedules can also POST results to a webhook (Console → Integrations).

💰 Pricing example

Event	Free	Bronze	Silver	Gold
Actor Start (apify-actor-start)	$0.02	$0.02	$0.02	$0.02
Source check (source-check)	$0.10	$0.09	$0.08	$0.07

Worked at the live Free-tier price (watch mode, one delta per change):

• 8 source checks: $0.02 start + $0.10 source check + 8 × $0.10 = $0.92
• 25 source checks: $0.02 start + $0.10 source check + 25 × $0.10 = $2.62
• 200 source checks: $0.02 start + $0.10 source check + 200 × $0.10 = $20.12

A run that delivers zero rows charges the $0.02 start fee plus the $0.10 source check (the source was read and reported empty). A BLOCKED run (source refused) fails loud and charges no value event. The start fee is charged once per GB of run memory; the default run memory is 1024 MB.

Yield on the sample run: NORMAL: emitted 10 item(s). max_items is a hard ceiling on what is delivered and billed, never a target. Snapshot output is capped at 25 records regardless of the cap you set; watch mode is the full feed.

⚖️ Legal & ToS

This actor reads public, logged-out pages and feeds published by www.gov.uk. It collects only what the source publishes to any visitor, identifies itself with a contact User-Agent, and does not access accounts, private data or anything behind authentication. Use the output in line with the source's terms and your local law; the intended use is B2B research and monitoring.

❓ FAQ

Q: Do I need an API key or a login?
A: No. The source (www.gov.uk) is read logged-out; the input schema has no key field and the actor carries no secrets.

Q: Why did my run return 0 rows?
A: Read the run's status message. GENUINE_EMPTY means the source was read and had nothing in scope for your input (in watch mode the first run always seeds the baseline and returns zero deltas); BLOCKED means the source refused and the run failed without billing a value event — retry later or narrow the input. A zero-row run bills the start fee plus one source check.

Q: How many rows can one run return?
A: Up to max_items (default 200); snapshot previews stop at 25. Raise the cap for a bigger run; you pay per delivered row.

Q: What does watch mode remember between runs?
A: A private baseline of source-native record ids in a named key-value store (baseline_id names it, so several independent watches can coexist). Each later run diffs the live source against it and emits only changes.

Q: How fresh is the data?
A: Every run reads the source live at run time; nothing is cached between runs except the watch baseline. Put it on a schedule for a continuous feed.

Q: What formats can I export?
A: The dataset downloads as JSON, CSV, Excel, XML or RSS from the run's Dataset tab or the Apify API, and any run can push to a webhook or integration.

Q: How is this different from the other UK CMA case watches actors?
A: Same output shape and billing model; this one covers www.gov.uk. The siblings under Related Actors cover the other sources or slices — run several on one schedule for a combined feed.

🆘 Troubleshooting

• Run FAILED with BLOCKED → the source refused the request or changed its page shape → nothing was billed beyond the start fee; retry after a while, and if it persists open an Issue with the run id.
• Status says CAPPED → your cap (max_items) was reached → raise it for a bigger run.
• Input validation error on start → a field is outside the schema's allowed values → start from the Quick start block and change one field at a time.
• Run TIMED-OUT → a very wide request on a slow day → raise the run timeout in Run options or narrow the input; what was delivered before the timeout is still in the dataset.
• First watch run shows no deltas → expected: it seeds the baseline; changes appear from the second run.

🔗 Related Actors

• UK CMA Cartel Investigation Watch — CMA cartel and anti-competitive-agreement investigations. Suspected conduct is reported as suspected — an open investigation is never presented as a…
• UK CMA Consumer Enforcement Watch — CMA consumer-protection enforcement actions and their outcomes
• WITHDRAWN 2026-07-27 - folded into market-study — WITHDRAWN 2026-07-27 - folded into market-study — one structured record per entity from the official public source, deduplicated, pay-per-record
• UK CMA Market Study & Investigation Watch — CMA market studies and market investigations as they open and progress
• 🏢 About NexGenData — NexGen Watch is NexGenData's fleet of 256 public monitoring and lookup actors built on official sources, pay-per-result. Browse the catalog at apify.com/nexgenwatch.

⭐ Found this useful?

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