However, as a breach of the Code brought such reputational damage and the possibility of exclusion from City services run by those institutions, it was regarded as binding.
In 2006, the Code was put onto a statutory footing as part of the UK's compliance with the European Directive on Takeovers.
The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations came into force in 1981 and implement a European Directive on takeovers.
The competence to deal with issues that only affect the UK market falls under the OFT and Competition Commission's jurisdiction.
In the case of [T-102/96] Gencor Ltd v. Commission [1999] ECR II-753 the EU Court of First Instance wrote merger control is there "to avoid the establishment of market structures which may create or strengthen a dominant position and not need to control directly possible abuses of dominant positions".
The market shares of the merging companies can be assessed and added, although this kind of analysis only gives rise to presumptions, not conclusions.