CMS European Class Action Report 2025

Analysing data from class action proceedings across Europe from the past five years, the report maps a true picture of class action risk for international businesses.

Now in its fifth year, the CMS European Class Action Report has charted the growth of class actions from a niche area to a significant strategic risk for corporates operating in Europe.

This growth has been driven by new procedural mechanism, innovative and aggressive claimant law firms, technology and social media techniques that assist bookbuilding and the ever expanding litigation funding sector. The UK, Netherlands, and Portugal remain the highest risk jurisdictions, with Spain a country to watch closely given the presence of a draft opt-out procedure.

The key findings of the 2025 Report are:

• There is continued growth in the number of claims across Europe, with 97 claims filed in 2024.
• Consumer and competition claims carry the biggest group litigation risk.
• The total cumulative value of class actions across the UK reached €155bn in 2024.
• The UK is followed by Portugal’s total of €54.76bn and the Netherland’s total of €36.31bn.
• The total value of claims against Big Tech reached €36.49bn in the UK and €17.85bn in the Netherlands.
• The aviation sector represented a significant proportion of Portugal’s claims, valued at €41.80bn.
• UK competition class actions involved more than 655 million class members by the end of 2024, equivalent to 10.4 class actions for every person in the UK population.