UK regulator raps Sainsbury's and Asda for preventing rival store openings
LONDON (Reuters) -Britain's competition watchdog has secured pledges from supermarket groups Sainsbury's and Asda to cease using unlawful land agreements after it uncovered 32 anti-competitive deals, it said on Tuesday.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said both grocers had breached legislation which was introduced to stop supermarkets imposing new restrictions that prevent rivals from opening competing stores nearby.
It said Sainsbury's breached the legislation 18 times between 2011 and 2019, while Asda breached it 14 times over the same period.
“Restrictions of this nature are against the law, cause real harm to shoppers and will not be tolerated. This is particularly important at a time when many families are struggling to pay their weekly grocery bills," David Stewart, executive director, markets and mergers at the CMA, said.
The regulator said Sainsbury's had agreed to remove the outstanding restrictions identified in its land agreements to become compliant with the legislation, while the restrictions identified in Asda's deals have been removed.
Action has also been agreed to prevent further breaches.
“These are minor, unintentional technical breaches and did not impact our ability or that of our competitors to operate or compete in any way," Sainsbury's said in a statement.
Similarly, Asda said the breaches involved "technical errors in documentation".
Market leader Tesco and upmarket retailer Waitrose were rapped by the CMA in 2020 and 2022 respectively for similar breaches.
(Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Kate Holton and Louise Heavens)
