(1) The lessor is entitled to withhold consent to the assignment of a retail shop lease in any of the following circumstances (and is not entitled to withhold that consent in any other circumstances)-(a) if the proposed assignee proposes to change the use to which the shop is put,(b) if the proposed assignee has financial resources or retailing skills that are inferior to those of the proposed assignor,(c) if the lessee has not complied with section 41 (Procedure for obtaining consent to assignment),(d) the circumstances set out in section 80E,(e) in the case of a retail shop lease that has been awarded by public tender, if the assignee fails to meet any criteria of the tender.
(2) This section does not preclude any right of the lessor to require payment of a reasonable sum in respect of any legal or other expenses incurred in connection with the consent, so long as the lessor has substantiated those expenses to the lessee at the request of the lessee.