The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has referred supermarket chain Tesco to the Competition Commission over its failure to find a buyer for a store in Slough.

Tesco was ordered to sell the former Co-op store in the town to a rival three years ago, to increase competition prospects, but the OFT has revealed that the chain has failed to announce a suitable candidate.

“Further delay risked critically undermining the credibility of the…process and with it the integrity of the UK merger regime,” said OFT chief executive John Fingleton.

Tesco acquired the Co-op to use as a temporary store, while its own shop in the town was refurbished and expanded.

When that development was complete, Tesco moved out of its temporary location, which was when the OFT demanded the empty store be sold to another one-stop-shop rival to ensure a healthy level of grocery competition in the area.

Tesco applied to redevelop the Co-op, which it is rebuilding as a series of smaller outlets, including a smaller Tesco store, having insisted that it has tried to find a buyer, but the OFT has turned down proposals as unsuitable.

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