Groceries (Supply Chain Practices) Market Investigation Order
Source: gov.uk (2025-08-28)

This order requires the UK's large grocery retailers to follow the Groceries Supply Code of Practice.

This remedy resulted from the Competition Commission’s (CC) groceries market investigation (https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/groceries-market-investigation-cc).

UPDATE: from 5 August 2019 Ocado Retail Ltd now carries on the whole or a substantial part of the business formerly carried on by Ocado Group plc and therefore, by virtue of Articles 4(1)(b) and 4(1)(c) of the Order, from the date of this notice Ocado Retail Ltd is a designated retailer, as defined in Article 2 of the Order and is required to comply with the Order and the Code.

UPDATE: From 1 March 2019 Lidl GB Ltd carries on the whole, or a substantial part, of the business formerly carried on by Lidl UK GmbH and therefore, by virtue of Article 4(1)(c) of the Order, from that date Lidl GB Ltd is a designated retailer, as defined in the Order and is required to comply with the Order and the Code.

The 10 largest grocery retailers in the UK are required to comply with the Groceries (Supply Chain Practices) Market Investigation Order 2009 (the Order) and the Groceries Supply Code of Practice (GSCOP) (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/groceries-supply-code-of-practice). The Order and the GSCOP are designed to reduce potential consumer detriment. They control practices that transfer excessive risks and unexpected costs to suppliers, and have an impact on suppliers’ quality, innovation and willingness to invest.

The Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/groceries-code-adjudicator) deals with issues related to the GSCOP.

The Order also requires:
- all supply agreements to be in writing
- the introduction of a disputes mechanism
- compliance reports to be sent to the CMA and the GCA
The CMA’s report

The Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) report on compliance summarises the main observations of the CMA’s review of the 10 Designated Retailers’ Groceries Supply Agreements. It also includes a checklist to help Designated Retailers in dealing with suppliers and compliance with Supply Agreements.

CMA designation decisions under the Groceries (Supply Chain Practices) Market Investigation Order 2009
- Notice of Designation for Amazon.com, Incorporated (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/notice-of-designation-for-amazoncom-incorporated)
- Notice of Designation for B&M European Value Retail S.A. (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/notice-of-designation-of-bm-european-value-retail-sa)
- Notice of Designation for TJ Morris Ltd (Home Bargains) (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/notice-of-designation-for-tj-morris-ltd-home-bargains)
- Notice of Designation for Ocado Retail Ltd (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/notice-of-designation-for-ocado-retail-ltd)
- Notice of de-designation of Ocado Group plc (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5e25e05ee5274a6c44d68186/Notice_of_De-designation_Ocado_Group_plc_Final_---.pdf)
CMA responses to statutory review consultations on the Groceries Code Adjudicator
- CMA’s response to DBT’s statutory review consultation, covering the period 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2025 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cmas-response-to-dbts-statutory-review-consultation-on-the-groceries-code-adjudicator-2025)
- CMA’s response to BEIS’s statutory review consultation, covering the period 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2022 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cma-response-to-beis-statutory-review-consultation-on-the-groceries-code-adjudicator)