Google just paid £260m to keep a UK trial off the calendar

This article was published on August 31, 2026 Google has agreed to pay £260m to settle a class action brought for UK app developers over Play Store commissions, weeks before it was due in court. The claim was originally valued at over £1bn. £100m of the settlement covers the cost of running the case. Alphabet logo displayed on a smartphone screen, with Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai’s profile photo in the background. Google has agreed to pay £260m to settle a class action brought on behalf of UK app developers, ending a case that was due to go to trial next month. The deal appeared on Thursday and is worth about $353m, Reuters reported. Lawyers had previously valued the claim at just over £1bn. It sought compensation for developers who sold apps on the Play Store in the UK. Barry Rodger, a competition law academic, brought the case as class representative. His lawyers alleged that Google abused its dominant position in two ways. It prevented developers from distributing apps by other routes, and it charged an unfair commission, usually 30%. The settlement needs approval from London’s Competition Appeal Tribunal, which will consider it at a hearing in September. Google made no admission