Case referred to Competition Commission
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has referred Tesco's acquisition of a former Co-op grocery store in Slough to the Competition Commission (CC), after the deadline to identify a buyer for the one-stop grocery store expired.

The OFT said Tesco had proposed to transfer the Co-op site to a suitable rival, which would have restored grocery competition and consumer choice in Slough. However, the retailer has not yet proposed any buyers, more than three years after the original reference decision of February 2004.

The solution was based around the operation of a one-stop grocery store as the anchor tenant in a larger redeveloped retail complex. However, demolition of the former Co-op store meant that the option for a suitable buyer to trade from the store was removed.

The OFT said Tesco has been unable to propose a remedy for the site that is 'clear-cut and capable of ready implementation.'

OFT chief executive John Fingleton said: 'In this case, we allowed the planning process to take its course and gave time for Tesco to come up with suitable upfront purchasers. They have not been able to do so and we must therefore bring the first-phase process to an end.'

OFT director of mergers Simon Pritchard said: 'The CC has the opportunity to review the issues in-depth, alongside its ongoing inquiry into the grocery sector and it has remedies options that have not been available to the OFT. A detailed inquiry by the CC will therefore be in the best interests of consumers.'

The CC is expected to report by October 3.