Six groups fined for price fixing

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said the firms - Asda, Somerfield, First Quench, Gallaher, One Stop Stores (formerly T&S Stores), and TM Retail had applied for leniency from the watchdog.

In April the OFT accused the groups of anti-competitive pricing, alleging that firms co-ordinated to link the price of some brands to rival products.

But its investigation against a further six firms also named by the watchdog in April - the Co-operative Group, Imperial Tobacco, Morrisons, Safeway, Shell and Tesco - is ongoing. Sainsbury's - which first came forward for leniency from the OFT - will avoid any financial penalty if it continues to co-operate with the probe.

The OFT has also separately alleged that some of those named arranged to swap information on future pricing.

The six firms who have reached an early agreement with the OFT have received a discount from the potential maximum fine of £173.3 million.

OFT chief executive John Fingleton said: "The OFT's objective is to make markets work well for consumers and the economy alike. A cornerstone of this is the principle that companies should set their prices independently.

He added: "The OFT is very pleased that the early co-operation of these parties has enabled the swift resolution of some of this case, which will significantly reduce the costs of pursuing the investigation for the OFT and the businesses concerned."

The OFT said in April that the tobacco manufacturers and retailers struck deals that "restricted the ability of each of these retailers to determine its selling prices independently" in a period spanning 2000 to 2003. It added that Gallaher, Imperial Tobacco, Asda, Sainsbury's, Shell, Somerfield and Tesco were involved in the "indirect exchange" of proposed future retail prices between competitors in the years 2001 to 2003.

The watchdog said it would "consider carefully" the representations of the companies against whom the investigation was still ongoing.