Appeal by Electro Rent Corporation (“Electro Rent”) pursuant to section 114 of the Enterprise Act 2002 against a decision of the Competition and Markets Authority (the “CMA”) of 11 June 2018 (the “Decision”) to impose a penalty of £100,000 on Electro Rent for failure to comply with an interim order dated 7 November 2017 by issuing on 16 March 2018 a notice to exercise a break option (the “Break Notice”) in respect of a lease of premises in Sunbury-on-Thames that Electro Rent Europe NV’s UK business used for warehousing and offices.
Electro Rent appeals against the Decision on the following grounds: (a) the CMA erred in finding that Electro Rent did not have a reasonable excuse for any breach by reason of service of the Break Notice; and (b) the penalty imposed by the CMA was excessive and should be reduced to nil or a nominal sum.
The case management conference listed for 1 August 2018 was vacated. Case management directions were given by Order of the Chairman dated 13 August 2018.
The main hearing took place on 24 and 25 October 2018. Judgment was handed down on 11 February 2019.
