CMA requires CHC to unwind helicopter services deal

Press release

CHC must unwind its completed acquisition of Babcock’s oil and gas offshore helicopter services to address competition concerns.

An offshore helicopter transporting workers to oil rigs

This decision by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) follows an in-depth Phase 2 investigation into the deal.

CHC provides offshore transport in the oil and gas sector, including taking workers to and from rigs in the UK North Sea. Prior to the merger, Babcock also provided these services. The CMA found that the parties were 2 of just 4 suppliers of oil and gas offshore helicopter services in the UK and provided an important competitive constraint on each other. The loss of this constraint would significantly reduce rivalry between an already limited number of suppliers. As a result, the CMA has found that the merger would lead to significant competition concerns in the UK’s oil and gas offshore helicopter services market.

In assessing competition in the supply of oil and gas offshore helicopter services in the UK, the CMA engaged with customers, competitors and other industry players. The CMA reviewed data on bidding for previous contracts, which indicated that the parties frequently bid against each other, and reviewed business strategy documents that showed that the parties considered each other to be significant competitors.

To address its concerns, and to restore competition to pre-merger levels, the CMA requires CHC to sell the UK oil and gas offshore helicopter services business it bought from Babcock. The sale of this business will ensure that 4 effective competitors remain in the market.

Kip Meek, Chair of the CMA inquiry group, said:

Offshore oil and gas are important industries for the UK, and helicopter companies play a vital role in transporting workers safely to and from oil rigs. While the industry faces commercial challenges, UK customers continue to spend hundreds of millions of pounds on offshore helicopter services each year. Competition is vital to avoid higher prices or poorer quality, problems that ultimately increase costs to UK consumers.

The sale of Babcock’s UK oil and gas offshore helicopter services business will support competition in future tenders for these important services.

For more information, visit the CHC / Babcock merger inquiry page.

Notes to editors:

  1. For media enquiries, contact the CMA press office on 020 3738 6460 or press@cma.gov.uk.
  2. CHC Group LLC (CHC) purchased the entire issued share capital of Offshore Helicopter Services UK Limited (Babcock Offshore UK), Offshore Services Australasia Pty Ltd (Babcock Offshore Australia) and Offshore Helicopter Services Denmark A/S (Babcock Offshore Denmark).
  3. Under the Enterprise Act 2002 the CMA has a duty to make a reference to Phase 2 if the CMA believes that it is or may be the case that a relevant merger situation has been created, or arrangements are in progress or contemplation which, if carried into effect, will result in the creation of a relevant merger situation; and the creation of that situation has resulted, or may be expected to result, in a substantial lessening of competition with any markets or markets in the United Kingdom for goods or services.
Published 1 June 2022
Last updated 1 June 2022 + show all updates

  1. First published.



Sir Robert Chote appointed as Chair of the UK Statistics Authority

News story

Sir Robert Chote has been appointed by Her Majesty the Queen as the new Chair of the UK Statistics Authority.

Sir Robert Chote has been appointed by Her Majesty the Queen as the new Chair of the UK Statistics Authority.

Sir Robert is a former head of the Office for Budget Responsibility and the Institute for Fiscal Studies and is currently serving part-time as the first chair of the Northern Ireland Fiscal Council, an independent body created in 2021 to bring greater transparency and independent scrutiny to NI’s public finances. He also chairs the external advisory group of the Parliamentary Budget Office in the Republic of Ireland.

The appointment was the subject of an open recruitment exercise following the Governance Code for Public Appointments, a pre-appointment hearing with the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, and approval by Parliament.

Sir Robert will take up the post on 1 June 2022, for a non-renewable five year term.

Welcoming the appointment, Minister of State at the Cabinet Office Lord True said:

I am delighted that Sir Robert Chote will take up this important role as Chair of the UK Statistics Authority. Sir Robert has all the attributes, experience and independence of judgement needed to lead the UKSA Board and the regulation of UK statistics.

I would like to thank Sir David Norgrove for his work over the previous five years and Ms Sian Jones for her short period of cover as interim Chair from April to May.

Notes for editors

  1. The post of Chair of the UK Statistics Authority is a Crown appointment, made with the approval of Parliament following a pre-appointment hearing before the House of Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Select Committee on 29 March and a formal motion debated on the floor of the House of Commons on 25 April.
  2. Sir Robert Chote is appointed to succeed Sir David Norgrove whose five-year term of office ended on 31 March 2022; since then the interim Chair has been Sian Jones.
  3. The UK Statistics Authority is an independent body operating at arm’s length from government as a non-ministerial department, directly accountable to Parliament. It was established on 1 April 2008 by the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007.

About Sir Robert Chote

  1. Sir Robert is a former head of the Office for Budget Responsibility and the Institute for Fiscal Studies and was Economics Editor of the Financial Times and the Independent. He is currently serving part-time as the first chair of the Northern Ireland Fiscal Council, an independent body created in 2021 to bring greater transparency and scrutiny to Northern Ireland’s public finances. He also chairs the external advisory group of the Parliamentary Budget Office in the Republic of Ireland.
  2. Robert was knighted in the 2021 New Year Honours list for services to fiscal policy and the economy.

Published 1 June 2022



Amanda Timberg and Darren Xiberras have been appointed as National Citizen Service Trust Board Members

Amanda Timberg

Amanda has dedicated her career to improving access to opportunities so that young people have the tools they need to lead fulfilling lives. She currently leads digital skilling education for Google, enabling opportunities by creating relevant and engaging content and programming. As part of her role she founded and leads the global apprenticeship program.

Before Google, Amanda spent fifteen years in education charities in the UK and the US, working to develop and equip teachers and leaders to make an impact towards educational equity. Amanda started her career teaching primary school in Compton, California and worked at both Teach For America and the Los Angeles Unified School District in southern California. She holds an MSc in Voluntary Sector Management from the Cass Business School.

Darren Xiberras

Darren Xiberras is currently Chief Financial Officer of Cardiff University and a member of the University Executive Board. He oversees all aspects of the University’s finances and financial performance.

Prior to joining Cardiff University, Darren was Chief Finance Officer at the University of South Wales having joined them in 2019. Immediately before that, he held the same role for the education charity Teach First where he also oversaw the Human Resources (HR), property and IT functions.

Prior to Teach First, Darren was Finance Director of ENGIE (formerly GDF Suez) UK’s £350m turnover public sector division, delivering property services to a multitude of blue-chip public sector clients across the UK.

Darren has also been Director of Corporate Services for a national UK charity and held the role of Group Finance Director for an Alternative Investment Market (AIM) listed PLC delivering services to the public sector. He trained as an accountant with South Wales Electricity PLC.

Darren currently holds the chair for the Welsh Higher Education Finance Directors’ Group (WHEFDG) and sits on the Executive Committee for the British Universities’ Finance Directors’ Group (BUFDG). Darren is a Trustee of the Difference Education Limited which works to reduce exclusion from mainstream schooling. He was also a co-opted member of the National Citizen Service audit and risk committee from 2019 to 2022.

Board Members of the National Citizen Service are not remunerated. These appointments have been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments. The appointments process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Under the Code, any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years must be declared. This is defined as including holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation, or candidature for election. Amanda Timberg and Darren Xiberras have declared no activity.



Professor Phillip Johnson and Martin Uden have been reappointed as Council Members of the Advisory Council on National Records and Archives

News story

The Secretary of State has reappointed Professor Phillip Johnson and Martin Uden as Council Members of the Advisory Council on National Records and Archives for terms of two years from 21 October 2022 until 20 October 2024.

Professor Philip Johnson

Phillip Johnson is the Professor of Commercial Law at Cardiff University. He researches legal history, intellectual property, and public law with particular interest in the history of policy development and the legislative process. He remains a practising barrister and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. He worked as a government lawyer between 2002 and 2007 and for most of that time he advised the Patent Office. In 2007 he returned to private practice before becoming a full title academic in 2012. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a Fellow of the European Law Institute. He has published numerous books and articles on law and legal political history.

Martin Uden

Martin Uden served as Ambassador in Seoul from 2008-2011, having had two previous postings in the Embassy there. He was previously Consul-General in San Francisco, and had postings to Bonn, Ottawa and Lagos. While on leave from the Foreign Office, he worked for the UN in New York as Coordinator of the Panel of Experts on sanctions against the DPRK from 2012-14.

After leaving the Foreign Office, he worked for HSBC in Hong Kong from 2015-17, and now works for his alma mater, Queen Mary University of London, and is on the Advisory Board of QMUL’s Global Policy Institute. In addition, he is a trustee of a Christian mission charity, Governor of his local school, Chairman of the British Korean Society and President of the British Korean War Veterans’ Society. He is the author of “Times Past in Korea,” 2003, an anthology of foreign writings on Korea, based on his collection of antiquarian books, and of a historical introduction to “Korea: Caught in time,” 1997.

These roles are remunerated at £386 per day for up to twenty-four days a year. This appointment has been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments. The process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. The Government’s Governance Code requires that any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years is declared. This is defined as holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation or candidature for election. Professor Phillip Johnson and Martin Uden have not declared any activity.

Published 1 June 2022



Roger Blundell has been reappointed as a Trustee of the National Portrait Gallery.

News story

The Prime Minister has reappointed Roger Blundell as a Trustee of the National Portrait Gallery for a term of 3 years and 7 months commencing on 1 September 2022 until 31 March 2026.

Roger is an experienced finance executive and is currently Executive Director Finance  of Grosvenor Property UK, one of the largest privately owned urban landowners in the UK. Roger has been on the board as Finance Director for 14 years and has overall responsibility for all financial aspects of the business including overseeing the strategy and research functions. During that time he  has had significant exposure to asset management, property development and urban regeneration.

Previously Roger has held finance director positions in a range of sectors, including financial services, retail and broadcasting. Roger is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England & Wales and a graduate of Edinburgh University.

Roger was appointed as a Trustee of the National Portrait Gallery in 2018; he Chairs the Audit and Risk Committee and is a member of the Finance Committee and the National Portrait Gallery Company Board. Roger is also a member of the Audit and Scrutiny Committee at the University of Oxford and a member of both  the Finance and the Estates Committees at University College London.

National Portrait Gallery Trustees are not remunerated. Roger’s term was initially extended by 5 months; he has subsequently been reappointed for a term of 3 years and 7 months.

This reappointment has been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments. The process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. The Government’s Governance Code requires that any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years is declared. This is defined as including holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation or candidature for election. Roger Blundell has declared no activity.

Published 1 June 2022