The Fragrance Shop takes landlord to court

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
May 2, 2019

The Fragrance Shop has initiated legal proceedings against landlord McArthurGlen, claiming it has breached an agreement to bring in a rival business.

The perfumes retailer has stores in all six McArthurGlen designer outlets in the UK, including locations in Ashford, Bridgend, Cheshire Oaks, East Midlands, Swindon and York. These units are understood the generate sales of around £1 million each year.

But the company has complained of facing eviction now that McArthurGlen is looking to let the units to competitor The Perfume Shop, reported the Evening Standard.

The Fragrance Shop alleges it had an agreement with the landlord to be the only fragrance retailer within some of its designer outlets, and that McArthurGlen terminated the leases without consultation.

Essentially, the retailer has claimed that McArthurGlen breached its obligations under Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, which allows businesses to renew their tenancy at the end of a lease. Five of six leases are understood to have already expired.

A McArthurGlen spokesman told the Standard it made “repeated attempts” to resolve the issue.  “We are disappointed that the matter now needs to be resolved in the High Court,” he said.

Meanwhile, Richard Cressall, a partner at law firm Gordons, commented on behalf of The Fragrance Shop: “This question of whether a retailer can be evicted is very important and affects many retailers, in what is already a very challenging environment. This law may be 65 years old but it is designed to prevent landlords like McArthurGlen essentially handing goodwill and trade to competitors.”

The legal case will be heard on 13 May.