Irish Competition Authority Decisions

1. Notification was made by Green Property plc on 30 September, 1992 with a request for a certificate under Section 4(4) of the Competition Act, 1991 or, in the event of a refusal by the Competition Authority to issue a certificate, a licence under Section 4(2), in respect of the standard lease between its wholly owned subsidiary Waterford Shopping Centre Ltd and the tenants at Waterford Shopping Centre.

2. The notification concerns the standard shopping centre lease in relation to the letting of shop units at Waterford Shopping Centre, Lisduggan, Co Waterford between Waterford Shopping Centre Ltd as Lessor and 37 tenants in the Shopping Centre.

3. Waterford Shopping Centre Ltd is engaged in the letting of shop units at Waterford Shopping Centre. The tenants are engaged in various retail and service activities at the shopping centre.

4. The notified standard shopping centre lease is in draft form. The restricted user clauses in the draft lease are as follows:-

(a) Under clause 3.10 the lessee covenants with the lessor

"To use the demised premises as a and not without the Lessors consent in writing to use or permit or suffer the same or any part thereof to be used for any other purpose and not to permit any business to be operated in or from the demised premises by any concessionaire or licensee without the prior written consent of the lessor".

(b) Under clause 3.12 the lessee covenants with the lessor

"(a) Not to assign, sub-let, part with or share possession of the demised premises or any part thereof without the consent in writing of the lessor (such consent in the case of an assignment or sub-letting of the entire of the demised premises not to be unreasonably withheld) .....

In addition, there are a number of other standard restrictive covenants and obligations in the standard lease.

Green Properties plc has advised that under clause 3.10 each tenant is restricted to particular specified trading activities.

5. The Authority considers that Waterford Shopping Centre Ltd and the tenants are undertakings and that the standard lease notified is an agreement between undertakings. The agreement has effect within the State.

6. The Authority considers that the notified agreement, and its restricted and exclusive user clauses and the other standard restrictive clauses and obligations, do not have the object or effect of preventing, restricting or distorting competition in trade in any goods or services in the State or in any part of the State, for the reasons given in the Notice of the Authority of 2 September 1993 in respect of shopping centre leases (Iris Oifigiuil 10 September 1993, pp. 665-667). The Authority therefore considers that the notified agreements between Waterford Shopping Centre Ltd and the tenants in relation to the lease of premises at Waterford Shopping Centre, do not offend against section 4(1) of the Competition Act, l99l.

7. The Competition Authority has issued the following certificate:

The Competition Authority certifies that in its opinion, on the basis of the facts in its possession, the agreements between Waterford Shopping Centre Ltd and the tenants in relation to the leases of the premises at Waterford Shopping Centre, Lisduggan, Waterford notified under Section 7 on 30 September 1992 (notification no. CA/424/92), do not offend against Section 4(1) of the Competition Act, l99l.

For the Competition Authority

Des Wall

Member

5 October 1993