John Wood
The leading figures in the UK supermarket sector could soon be putting their case at a public hearing by the Competition Commission panel looking into the bids for Safeway.
Sir Derek Morris, chairman of the Competition Commission and also chairman of the inquiry panel, told The Grocer he was keen to organise a public hearing which all the main players would be invited to attend.
He said: "One of the criteria is whether there is a particular consumer interest, so this is one where we would look pretty closely."
He revealed that the Commission was already in talks with the bidders about a public hearing and said if one went ahead, it would be held as early as possible in the inquiry.
The Grocer understands the meeting could be as early as April 30.
Sir Derek said all the bidders would be given an opportunity to put their case, and added: "We would typically try and find people with opposing views as well. Not to have in a court-like sense an adversarial session it's not a grilling it's more an opportunity for all shades of opinion to express a view."
He said that in other public hearings conducted by the Commission the chief executives of the companies concerned have often been the ones putting their case.
Each witness would have a limited length of time, however. Sir Derek said a public hearing would probably only last half a day. Time is also short for parties wishing to submit evidence to the inquiry, with April 18 given as the closing date in Commission adverts.
Sir Derek defended the timescale, saying: "That may seem short, but you have to bear in mind that anyone that has got a view of this has developed that view some time ago because they would have been involved in the OFT process of deciding whether to make a referral."
One of the reasons driving the tight timescale is the need for a swift conclusion to end the uncertainty surrounding Safeway.
The DTI secretary of state Patrica Hewitt gave the commission until August 12 to come up with its report and Sir Derek said this was a very tight timetable.
"We usually have three months for a single merger and that's tight, and this gives us just under five months for four mergers."
He said the case would impose a lot of strain on the Commission, but believed it could meet it target.
>> p35 The bids for Safeway
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The leading figures in the UK supermarket sector could soon be putting their case at a public hearing by the Competition Commission panel looking into the bids for Safeway.
Sir Derek Morris, chairman of the Competition Commission and also chairman of the inquiry panel, told The Grocer he was keen to organise a public hearing which all the main players would be invited to attend.
He said: "One of the criteria is whether there is a particular consumer interest, so this is one where we would look pretty closely."
He revealed that the Commission was already in talks with the bidders about a public hearing and said if one went ahead, it would be held as early as possible in the inquiry.
The Grocer understands the meeting could be as early as April 30.
Sir Derek said all the bidders would be given an opportunity to put their case, and added: "We would typically try and find people with opposing views as well. Not to have in a court-like sense an adversarial session it's not a grilling it's more an opportunity for all shades of opinion to express a view."
He said that in other public hearings conducted by the Commission the chief executives of the companies concerned have often been the ones putting their case.
Each witness would have a limited length of time, however. Sir Derek said a public hearing would probably only last half a day. Time is also short for parties wishing to submit evidence to the inquiry, with April 18 given as the closing date in Commission adverts.
Sir Derek defended the timescale, saying: "That may seem short, but you have to bear in mind that anyone that has got a view of this has developed that view some time ago because they would have been involved in the OFT process of deciding whether to make a referral."
One of the reasons driving the tight timescale is the need for a swift conclusion to end the uncertainty surrounding Safeway.
The DTI secretary of state Patrica Hewitt gave the commission until August 12 to come up with its report and Sir Derek said this was a very tight timetable.
"We usually have three months for a single merger and that's tight, and this gives us just under five months for four mergers."
He said the case would impose a lot of strain on the Commission, but believed it could meet it target.
>> p35 The bids for Safeway
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