Kier 'considering' its position after £18m fine

Kier is "considering its position" after being landed with an £18m fine from the OFT - the biggest penalty to be handed to the 103 firms found to be engaged in cover pricing.

But unlike other firms, the company stopped short of indicating that it would appeal.

In a statement the company said: "Kier is totally committed to ensuring that the practice of cover pricing and anti-competitive behaviour more generally is totally driven out of the construction industry and we have been leading the drive by the UK Contractors Group (UKCG) to ensure that a new industry wide code of conduct governing competitive behaviour is implemented.

"Kier has strengthened its processes and procedures through a comprehensive programme of internal and external audit and training, so as to ensure that anti-competitive practices do not occur anywhere in the Group."