Exclusivity clause breach upheld against property owners for allowing competing coffee franchise

Court of Appeal upholds the High Court's decision that the property owners breached an exclusivity clause by allowing a competing coffee franchise to operate within a leased unit, despite the lease's terms. The original High Court judgment found that the property owners had permitted a new tenant to conduct two separate businesses within the same unit, one of which was a coffee franchise that directly competed with the existing tenant's coffee business, in violation of the exclusivity agreement. The Court of Appeal agreed with the trial judge's conclusion that the competing coffee franchise was not ancillary to the main permitted business and therefore contravened the exclusivity clause. The property owners' appeal on the grounds that the respondent lacked standing to bring the proceedings was also dismissed, with the Court affirming that the respondent was entitled to the profits from the business and had appropriately accounted for them.