Safestyle pays out £2.2m settlement with co-founder after acrimonious dispute

Manufacturer Safestyle has signed off on a £2.2m settlement with its co-founder Mitu Misra, putting an end to a long-running dispute.

Bradford-based Safestyle makes and sells PVCu replacement windows and doors.

Misra had launched a competitor, Safeglaze, which had succeeded in taking a chunk of Safestyle’s sales, as well as taking staff.

Legal claims were filed in 2018 alleging alleged trade mark infringement, passing off, misuse of confidential information and malicious falsehood.

A settlement was agreed, with a five-year non-compete clause agreed. The deal would see Misra wait two years for a payout of up to £2m, based on commercial performance, and given 4m shares.

He will receive £1m cash today while his shares, which represent a 3% stake in the business, will be created on Monday.

The shares are today worth £1.2m, around half of their value when the deal was first struck two years ago.

In a statement, Safestyle said: “Following the admission and payment, the group has now satisfied the terms of the agreement and no further consideration will be paid to Mr Misra.”