The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has provisionally decided that both discounters should be added to the Groceries Market Investigation (Controlled Land) Order 2010, which currently applies to Asda, Co-op, Marks and Spencer, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, and Waitrose.

This order is designed to prevent large grocery retailers from using land agreements to block competitors from opening nearby stores, often through restrictive covenants or exclusivity terms.

Juliette Enser, executive director of competition enforcement and markets at the CMA, said: “We want everyone to have the best choice of supermarket and range of prices when buying their groceries.

“To ensure this happens, we put rules in place to prevent big supermarket chains blocking rival stores from opening nearby – and now we propose applying those rules to Aldi and Lidl too.

“This is about allowing shoppers to choose where they spend their money and levelling the playing field for all major supermarkets.

“Today’s proposals are provisional and we welcome views before deciding the best way forward.”

The CMA’s review found that Aldi, Lidl GB, and Lidl NI now meet the criteria of ‘Large Grocery Retailers’ (LGRs) due to their store footprint, nationwide presence, procurement model, and the breadth of their grocery range.

Aldi and Lidl were originally excluded from the 2010 order as ‘limited assortment discounters’, offering a smaller selection of products compared to traditional supermarkets.

However, the CMA’s provisional findings indicate that this is no longer the case.

All three now operate large grocery stores, each with more than 1,000 square metres of shop floor space, and offer a full range of products, though with less category choice than some competitors.

They also purchase goods directly from suppliers through integrated wholesaling.

With the UK grocery market estimated to be worth £215 billion, Aldi and Lidl are now ranked among the top five retailers by market share.

The CMA is seeking feedback from stakeholders before reaching a final decision.

Aldi and Lidl could join the other supermarket chains later this year.

The CMA is inviting views until 5pm on Monday, September 7, 2026, and will issue its final decision in the autumn after reviewing responses.

If the discounters are included under the order, they will be prevented from using land agreements to limit competition from other supermarket chains.

The CMA aims to ensure competition across the grocery sector to give shoppers more choice and competitive pricing by removing obstacles to new store openings.

If you have ordered something that is being sent through Royal Mail, it might be arriving a little later than usual.

Royal Mail deliveries are currently facing delays in areas including Bedford, Deal, Huntingdon, and Llangefni.

Here are all of the postcodes across England and Wales that are currently experiencing delays.

What postcodes are experiencing Royal Mail delays?

Royal Mail posts its service updates to keep its customers aware of any issues happening at its local offices.

The delivery company said: “We aim to deliver to all addresses we have mail for, six days a week.

“In a small number of local offices, this may temporarily not be possible due to local issues such as high levels of sick absence, resourcing, or other local factors.

“In those cases, we will rotate deliveries to minimise the delay to individual customers.

“We also provide targeted support to those offices to address their challenges and restore our service to the high standard our customers would normally receive.”

The full list of postcodes affected:

• Barry DO (CF63)
• Bedford MK40 DO (MK40-MK45)
• Blyth DO (NE24)
• Brierley Hill DO (DY5)
• Burslem DO (ST6)
• Calderway DO (WF12-WF14)
• Carmarthen DO (SA17, SA31, SA32, SA33)
• Chester DO (CH1-CH4, CH88, CH99)
• Chorlton DO (M21)
• Deal DO (CT14)
• Dudley DO (DY1-DY3)
• Ebbw Vale DO (NP23)
• Failsworth SUDO (M35)
• Gosforth DO (NE3, NE13)
• Great Glen SPDO (LE8)
• Heswall DO (CH31, CH60, CH61)
• Huntingdon DO (PE26-PE29)
• Ilfracombe DO (EX34)
• Inverclyde DO (PA14-PA19)
• Llangefni DO (LL62-LL78)
• Lutterworth DO (LE9, LE17)
• Margate DO (CT7-CT9)
• Milton Keynes Kiln Farm DO (MK8, MK11-MK14, MK19)
• Mold DO (CH7)
• Mumbles DO (SA3)
• New Ferry DO (CH32, CH62, CH63)
• Newton Le Willows DO (WA3, WA12)
• Pontefract DO (WF7-WF9, WF11)
• Rugby DO (CV21-CV23)
• Rugeley DO (WS15)
• Shrewsbury DO (SY1-SY5)
• Sidmouth DO (EX10)
• Southam DO (CV47)
• Wallingford DO (OX10, OX49)
• Wednesbury DO (WS10)
• West Park DO (PL5)
• Wolverhampton NE DO (WV11, WV12)
• Woolton DO (L25-L27)

Royal Mail apologised for any inconvenience caused by the delays and will be regularly updating its customers on the areas that are most impacted.

Despite the delays, Royal Mail has said its road and air network services have operated to schedule over the last 24 hours.

If you have a parcel that needs to be collected from a Customer Service Point, you will be left a “Something for you” card.

Have you had any issues with Royal Mail parcels recently? Let us know in the comments.

Whitbread is closing all 105 Beefeater and 89 Brewers Fayre sites in the coming weeks, with final closure dates set for early September.

The mass closures are part of a major restructuring plan and strategy change.

Customers are now being reminded to redeem accrued points to avoid losing them.

All 106 Beefeater restaurants will also be closing as part of Whitbread’s restructuring (Image: Getty Images)

Warning to Beefeater and Brewers Fayre customers over loyalty points

A fresh email warning them to use remaining rewards as the sites prepare to close has been sent.

One from Beefeater reads: “We want to say a huge thank you for your custom at our Beefeater restaurants.

“As you may have seen, we have recently announced changes to your business, which is resulting in the closure of our Branded Restaurants.”

The email explains that the Beefeater Reward Club and other loyalty schemes, Bonus Club and Tasty Rewards, will close on Monday, August 31.

Points or receipt information must be entered into the loyalty scheme by Monday, August 24, and points must be converted to vouchers and redeemed by August 31.

All unredeemed points will expire and be wiped from the system at 7am on September 1.

Brewers Fayre has similar rewards with its loyalty scheme ending at the same time.

Why are Beefeater and Brewers Fayre closing?

The closures follow Whitbread’s announcement in April of a full shutdown of its Beefeater and Brewers Fayre sites.

The company is shifting its strategy to focus on expanding its Premier Inn hotel business.

Dominic Paul, chief executive of Whitbread, said previously: “We always challenge ourselves to improve and, in light of significant cost increases in the form of business rates and national insurance, as well as the implied market discount to our inherent value, we’ve looked hard at the options open to us to maximise value creation over the medium and long-term.

“This has been a rigorous process and we’ve approached all options with an open mind.

“Our new five-year plan builds on our strengths and drives a significant acceleration of our strategy.

“This plan will transform Whitbread into a higher-margin, higher-returning pure-play hotel business.

“We’re going to go further and faster to deliver a great experience for our guests and high-quality growth and returns for our shareholders.”

As part of the transition, nearly 3,800 jobs are at risk.

Whitbread has indicated that while some employees may be redeployed within the company, significant redundancies are likely.

The closures are part of a broader plan to convert restaurant sites into additional Premier Inn rooms.

The company also intends to sell around £1.5 billion worth of freehold property to support its expansion.

Currently, Whitbread operates around 86,600 hotel rooms and plans to grow this to 96,000 by the 2031 financial year.

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Brewers Fayre will close its remaining restaurants on September 7.

Beefeater will shut its final sites three days later, on September 10.

Whitbread has said it regrets the impact on staff and is working to support those affected during the transition.

Will you be sad to see your local Beefeater and Brewers Fayre sites close? Let us know in the comments.