Letter of Advice 2007 Two years ago Matthew took a lease of a shop premises in Beggatory Plaza, a major shopping centre in a Melbourne suburb. Matthew signed two copies of the lease in the office of the Centre Manager, Nicole, an employee of the proprietor of the centre, Double Barrel Pty Ltd. Both copies of the lease had already been executed by Double Barrel. One was handed to Matthew and the other retained by Nicole. The lease is for a term of 5 years. It is thirteen pages long, and contains many terms commonly found in commercial leases, among them the following: 30. This lease contains the entire agreement between the parties, and the parties hereto acknowledge that no statements, representations or promises have been made between them which are not to be found herein. In the weeks prior to execution of the lease there had been several conversations between Matthew and Nicole, in which the terms of the lease were discussed. It had been agreed from the outset that Matthew would operate a men’s wear retail business on the premises. In the course of a conversation between Matthew and Nicole that took place about a week before the lease was executed Matthew asked Nicole whether there were any other men’s wear shops in Beggatory Plaza. Nicole replied that there were not. Matthew then made it clear to Nicole that she was interested in taking a lease only if no other men’s wear shop would be allowed to operate in Beggatory Plaza. She said that she had been offered premises in another shopping centre, Ultimate Plaza, on the understanding that she would have the only men’s wear shop there. Nicole said: “The policy of our company is to ensure that there will only ever be one shop of any particular kind in the Plaza. It is in our own interest that the business of our tenants is fully protected at all times. We always make it clear to them that they need not have any fears on this score.” Shortly after the execution of the lease Matthew moved in. His shop proved an instant success, and Matthew’s takings increased steadily month by month. But three weeks ago another men’s wear shop opened up at the other end of Beggatory Plaza, without any prior notice to Matthew. Since then Matthew’s takings have begun to decline. Matthew has come to you for legal advice. He says that he wants to know whether Double Barrel Pty Ltd has a legal obligation not to allow another men’s wear shop to open up in Beggatory Plaza. Explain the legal position to him in a letter of advice.