Much has been written recently about the Competition Act and the
implications for exclusivity covenants following revocation of the
Land Agreements Exclusion Order. However, there is another
area of competition law which can also impact on the real estate
sector.
Over the past 12 months the OFT has investigated two separate
shopping centre acquisitions. The first, last summer, was
Capital Shopping Centre's purchase of the Trafford Shopping
Centre. More recently in March 2012 the OFT cleared CSC's
acquisition of the Broadgate Shopping Centre in
Nottingham.
The reason for the OFT involvement is the Enterprise Act 2002
which covers merger situations (i.e. where two or more enterprises
are brought under common ownership or control). The term
"enterprise" is very widely defined as the activities, or
part of the activities of a business, and therefore a property such
as a shopping centre, may in itself be an
"enterprise".
