The Competition and Markets Authority is moving to bring Aldi and Lidl under the same rules governing Britain’s biggest supermarket groups, in a move designed to stop major retailers
from using property agreements to keep competitors out.
The competition watchdog has provisionally concluded that Aldi, Lidl GB and Lidl NI have grown beyond their former status as “limited assortment discounters” and should now be classified as Large Grocery Retailers.
If confirmed, the decision would bring the two discount chains within the scope of the Groceries Market Investigation (Controlled Land) Order 2010. The rules are intended to prevent supermarkets from using restrictive covenants, exclusivity clauses and other land agreements to prevent rival retailers from opening stores nearby.
The CMA said the objective was straightforward: to ensure that supermarkets compete on a level playing field and that consumers have a genuine choice over where they shop and how much they pay.
The order currently covers seven major chains: Asda, Co-op, Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose.
Aldi and Lidl were originally left outside the regime when it was introduced in 2010 because both were considered limited-assortment discounters, offering a narrower range of products than the large supermarket groups.
The CMA now believes that the retailers’ UK operations have changed significantly enough to warrant a different classification.
Its provisional assessment is based on three main factors. Both Aldi and Lidl operate sizeable grocery stores, with shopfloor areas exceeding 1,000 square metres, across wide geographic areas. They also offer a full grocery range, although individual product choice within some categories may remain narrower than at traditional supermarkets.
The watchdog has also highlighted their procurement structures, noting that both retailers buy directly from suppliers through integrated grocery wholesaling operations.
The shift reflects the growing importance of the discount chains within the UK grocery market. The food and grocery sector is estimated to be worth around £215 billion, while Aldi and Lidl have established themselves among the country’s five largest grocery retailers by market share.
Juliette Enser, the CMA’s executive director of competition enforcement and markets, said the proposed change was intended to give consumers greater freedom to choose between competing retailers.
The CMA is now consulting on its provisional findings before reaching a final decision. Interested parties have until 5pm on 7 September 2026 to submit their views.
The watchdog will consider the responses before deciding in the autumn whether Aldi, Lidl GB and Lidl NI should formally be designated Large Grocery Retailers and brought within the controlled-land rules.
For Aldi and Lidl, the decision could mean greater scrutiny of their property arrangements and less scope to prevent competing supermarket operators from establishing stores in their vicinity. For shoppers, the CMA says, the wider aim is to preserve competition, choice and pressure on grocery prices. Photo by P L Chadwick, Wikimedia commons.
