If a Supermarket Chain Agrees to Buy Land for a Potential

Multiple Choice

If a supermarket chain agrees to buy land for a potential store 'subject to contract', and then spends time and money obtaining planning permission for the site, what can the supermarket chain claim if the seller then refuses to conclude the deal but, instead, sells the land at an enhanced value due to the planning permission, to a rival bidder?

A) A claim in promissory estoppel for the land.
B) A claim in specific performance to have the land transferred to it.
C) A restitutionary claim for a quantum meruit for work done.
D) A claim in proprietary estoppel for the land.