CMA puts Aldi and Lidl under supermarket land rules

Rules now cover 10 supermarket businesses

On 22 October 2026 the Competition and Markets Authority designated Aldi, Lidl GB and Lidl NI as Large Grocery Retailers under the Groceries Market Investigation (Controlled Land) Order 2010. The decision takes the number of businesses covered by the order to 10. The order has applied since 2010 to 7 chains: Asda, Co-op, Marks and Spencer, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose. The 3 additions are Aldi, Lidl GB and Lidl NI.

The designation means the same land rules that have applied to the 7 established chains for more than 15 years now extend to the two discount chains and to Lidl's Northern Ireland business. The order is aimed at land agreements rather than at pricing or product ranges. It sits alongside the CMA's wider work on how supermarkets compete for sites and for shoppers. The change was confirmed in a single day, with the designation taking effect on 22 October 2026.

What the rules ban

The order stops designated retailers using land agreements, mainly restrictive covenants and exclusivity arrangements, to make it harder for rival supermarkets to open nearby. A restrictive covenant can prevent a plot of land from being used as a grocery store, while an exclusivity arrangement can tie a site or a developer to one retailer. Under the order, designated retailers cannot include prohibited restrictions in new agreements. That applies to Aldi, Lidl GB and Lidl NI from the date of designation, in the same way it applies to the 7 chains already covered.

The order also gives the CMA a route to look at deals already in place. The CMA can review existing agreements at the request of landowners, developers and rival supermarkets. That means a landowner who finds an old restriction on a site, or a developer or competing supermarket that believes a term is blocking a store, can ask the regulator to examine it. The order does not automatically void every existing agreement; the review route is triggered by a request. The focus is on terms that hold back rival grocery openings rather than on land deals in general.

Why it matters

The UK food and grocery market is estimated at £222.7bn, and Aldi and Lidl are among the top 5 retailers by market share. The two discounters have grown into major players, so the terms attached to the land they buy or lease can shape where rival stores are able to open. Extending the order to them brings the discounters into the same framework as the larger established chains. The CMA consulted in August before making the decision. Morrisons, Waitrose and Iceland responded in support of the move. Aldi, Lidl GB and Lidl NI made no representations.

CMA executive director Juliette Enser said the rules aim to level the playing field. The designation therefore applies the same land agreement restrictions to the discounters that the 7 chains have faced since 2010. For the CMA, the change widens the set of retailers whose site deals can be examined under the order. For the retailers already covered, it means the competitive landscape for new sites now includes the discounters under the same rules. The order is one part of how grocery competition is policed, and the designation adds 3 businesses to a list that had stood at 7 since 2010.

What it means for shoppers

For shoppers, the practical effect is that more stores may be able to open near each other, which can widen the choice of where to shop and what to pay. If a restrictive covenant or exclusivity term has been keeping a rival supermarket off a nearby site, the order gives a route to challenge it. Over time, that can mean more competition in local areas, including where a discounter and an established chain are close together. There is no change to prices on day one. The order governs land agreements, not shelf prices, so any effect on what shoppers pay would come through store openings and local competition rather than through an immediate price change.

The benefit is likely to be felt most where land is scarce and a single site can serve a whole neighbourhood. A landowner or developer who wants to bring in a supermarket can ask the CMA to review an existing agreement, and a rival supermarket can do the same. Shoppers do not need to do anything, and no new rights are created for individual customers under the order. The change is about the terms attached to land, and about making sure those terms do not shut out competing grocery stores. Any shift in the number of stores in a given area would depend on individual sites and on requests made under the review route.

Where the rules apply

Lidl GB operates in England, Scotland and Wales, and Lidl NI operates in Northern Ireland. Both are now designated under the order. Aldi has no stores in Northern Ireland, so its designation applies to its business in England, Scotland and Wales. The order therefore reaches all 4 nations of the UK through the Lidl businesses, with Aldi covered everywhere it trades. The 7 chains covered since 2010 remain subject to the same rules.

The geographic split matters because land law and site availability differ across the UK, and the Lidl NI designation brings the Northern Ireland business into the same framework as Lidl GB. For shoppers in Northern Ireland, the order now covers both Lidl NI and the 7 established chains that already applied there. For shoppers in England, Scotland and Wales, it covers Aldi, Lidl GB and those same 7 chains. The designation does not change where any retailer can trade today; it changes the terms that can be attached to land deals and the route for reviewing existing ones.

Source: CMA: Aldi and Lidl will be subject to same rules as major supermarkets.

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Frequently asked questions

How many supermarket businesses are covered by the Controlled Land Order now?

10. The CMA designated Aldi, Lidl GB and Lidl NI on 22 October 2026, adding them to the 7 chains covered since 2010: Asda, Co-op, Marks and Spencer, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose.

What does the order actually ban?

It stops designated retailers using land agreements, mainly restrictive covenants and exclusivity arrangements, to make it harder for rival supermarkets to open nearby. Designated retailers cannot include prohibited restrictions in new agreements.

Can existing land agreements be reviewed?

Yes. The CMA can review existing agreements at the request of landowners, developers and rival supermarkets.

Will this change prices in shops?

There is no change to prices on day one. The order governs land agreements rather than shelf prices, so any effect would come through store openings and local competition over time.

Does the order apply across the UK?

Lidl GB operates in England, Scotland and Wales, and Lidl NI operates in Northern Ireland. Aldi has no stores in Northern Ireland, so its designation applies to its business in England, Scotland and Wales.