A construction recruitment firm which was given a £1m penalty by the Office of Fair Trading for its part in a cartel has begun an appeal against the fine.

At a Competition Appeal Tribunal in London, Eden Brown is appealing against the size of the fines handed out by the OFT last year for price-fixing and the collective boycott of another company in the supply of candidates to the construction industry.

In total, six recruiters – A Warwick Associates, Henry Recruitment, CDI AndersElite, Eden Brown, Fusion People, Hays Specialist Recruitment – were fined £39m by the OFT.

Two others – Beresford Blake Thomas and Hill McGlynn & Associates – were granted immunity after acting as a whistle-blowers during the investigation.

Besides Eden Brown, two other recruiters are appealing against their fines, Hays and CDI AndersElite, who received penalties of £30.4m and £7.6m respectively.

All three argue that the fines are excessive and disproportionate.

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