CMA puts Aldi and Lidl under big supermarket land rules

The UK Competition and Markets Authority has designated Aldi, Lidl GB and Lidl Northern Ireland as Large Grocery Retailers under the 2010 Controlled Land Order, barring them from using land agreements to block rival supermarkets opening nearby.

Why it matters: The two discounters rank among the UK's top five grocers by market share in a food and grocery market the CMA values at £222.7 billion, and they now face the same land restrictions that have bound Tesco, Sainsbury's and five other chains since 2010.

Data as of CMA final decisions report and press release of October 22, 2026, read in full on GOV.UK. The designation follows the CMA's provisional decision of August 7, 2026; Morrisons, Waitrose and Iceland supported the proposal in responses, and the CMA received no representations from Aldi or Lidl. Developing item.

The Competition and Markets Authority published its final decisions on Thursday designating Aldi Stores Limited, Lidl Great Britain Limited and Lidl Northern Ireland Limited as Large Grocery Retailers under the Groceries Market Investigation (Controlled Land) Order 2010. The Order, which has applied to Asda, Co-op, Marks and Spencer, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose since 2010, stops designated chains from using restrictive covenants and exclusivity arrangements in land agreements to make it harder for a rival supermarket to open nearby.

Designation means Aldi and Lidl cannot include prohibited restrictions in new land agreements, and their existing agreements can be reviewed by the CMA at the request of landowners, developers and rival supermarkets. Juliette Enser, the CMA’s Executive Director for Competition Enforcement and Markets, said the rules would stop the discounters blocking rival stores in their area and level the playing field for shoppers.

CMA puts Aldi and Lidl under big supermarket land rules

Sources