Manufacturer wins first court battle against rival

Window retailer and manufacturer Safestyle has won its battle in the first stage of legal proceedings against a competitor, a move which comes weeks after it issued a stark profit warning blaming declining consumer confidence and an “aggressive new market entrant”.

Bradford-headquartered Safestyle UK announced last week it had filed the action against NIAMAC Developments, which has been trading as Safeglaze UK, as well as a number of named individuals.

It asked the court to determine whether Safestyle is entitled to injunctive relief and damages from what the group considers to be passing off, the misuse of confidential information, unlawful means conspiracy and malicious falsehood.

The first hearing took place last Friday, when the court made a number of orders against Safeglaze UK and certain named individuals, on an interim basis pending further order or final order of the court.

They include a number of injunctive orders preventing Safeglaze UK and certain named individuals from undertaking various actions, and an order requiring them to provide specified documents to Safestyle UK.

A further hearing will be heard during the week commencing July 9.

Meanwhile, Safestyle also announced the resignation of chairman Peter Richardson with immediate effect.

The company said that Richardson assumed the role of chair at short notice “but it has become clear that the specific challenges currently facing the business and the time commitment required are beyond what he envisaged”.

The company said it is now looking for a replacement “with the requisite time, experience and turnaround skills”.

Chris Davies, senior non-executive director of Safestyle UK, said: “I would like to take this opportunity, on behalf of the board, to thank Peter for his time and efforts since joining Safestyle in July 2016. Peter recently stepped into the chairman role at short notice and has devoted a significant amount of time to support the business. He made a strong contribution to the board during what has been a challenging time and we wish him luck in his future endeavours.

“We are pleased with the outcome of the hearing and, although we are disappointed to see Peter go, the board now has the opportunity to appoint a chairman with the requisite time, experience and turnaround skills at what is a timely juncture. The incoming chairman will, amongst other responsibilities, lead the process of reinforcing the board with a new contingent of NEDs to complement existing skillsets.”

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