Tesco dominates high street

Tesco is continuing to expand on the high street, raising concern about its dominant position in the market. According to data obtained by The Sunday Time, the supermarket giant has acquired up to half of all the new shopping space in the UK this year, after store closures had been taken into account. Retail analyst Richard Hyman of Verdict Research conducted the research and called the statistics "mind-boggling". He estimated that the company opened 2 million square foot of retail space in 2006.

Rivals of the supermarket leader have submitted complaints to the Competition Commission. The watchdog is to unveil the findings of its most recent investigation of supermarket retailing and speculation is mounting that it may suggest adding in a "competition test" to planning regulations.