The Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) overruled the Competition Commission (CC), which had earlier said that local planners should take into account the variety of grocery outlets in an area before given the green light for a new store.
It was designed to prevent any single retailer becoming dominant in a particular area but Tesco would have been most adversely affected and challenged the fairness of the ruling.
The CAT concluded that the CC did ‘not fully and properly assess and take account of the risk that the application of the test might have adverse effects for retailers.'
Tesco described the decision as ‘a victory for common sense'.
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