Iceland executive chairman Richard Walker has claimed Britain’s competition rules are “rigged” in Aldi and Lidl’s favour, says a new report.

Walker said that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) was being too slow in imposing similar store-opening restrictions on the German discounters as on traditional supermarkets, the Telegraph reported.

Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Waitrose, Asda, Marks and Spencer and Co-op are prevented from blocking competitor grocers from launching near their shops under rules launched back in 2010.

However, Aldi and Lidl are not covered by the current rules, which means that they can write clauses into their land contracts prohibiting rival supermarkets from launching nearby.

While the discounters were not included when the rules were launched in 2010, as they were considered too small, the pair new hold nearly a fifth of the grocery market.

Iceland is also exempt from the rules due to its small size, although the restrictive land clauses mean that it cannot launch stores nearby Aldi and Lidl. 

Walker said the Government department should take urgent action, cautioning that Aldi and Lidl were using restrictive land clauses in their new shops to limit competition.

He said: “The regulator drones on about being pro-growth but fails to act when markets are clearly being rigged.

“I urge the CMA to pick up the phone to me today to tell me I am wrong, and that they are going to fix this mess. This has got to stop – what are they afraid of?”

A CMA spokesperson said: “We are aware of retailers’ concerns regarding the designation of supermarkets, which we take seriously.

“We must act within the legal framework and be fair to all grocery retailers, and we are committed to using our powers to support competition. We expect to provide an update soon.”

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