High Court rules for Stark but against Huws Gray in employment cases

Two builders merchants have had employment cases relating to non-compete clauses heard at the High Court. Stark Building Materials was successful in its claim against a former procurement executive who joined rival MKM. However, Huws Gray  failed in its attempt to get a judge to enforce a six‑month non‑compete clause against a former area sales manager who also joined MKM.

Huws Gray, which operates more than 300 branches nationwide, sought to prevent former Area Sales Manager Daniel Gentleman from taking up a role with MKM Building Supplies’ new Swindon branch. Gentleman had been responsible for customer relationships across Swindon, Newbury and Cirencester before resigning in November 2025 and joining MKM in January 2026.

Judge Jonathan Russen, laying down a ruling on June 17 2026, accepted that Huws Gray had a legitimate interest in protecting its customer connections, but judged that the six‑month non‑compete clause went further than necessary, because the contract failed to define “Restricted Customer” or “Restricted Potential Customer”.

The company argued that Gentleman breached a non‑compete clause by joining a direct competitor within 20 miles of his former branches. However, the judge emphasised that non‑solicitation and non‑dealing clauses are generally more acceptable than non‑competes, and that a properly drafted customer‑focused covenant would have provided the necessary protection.

However, on June 9, a separate High Court application by Stark Building Materials UK to enforce a non-competition against a former senior procurement executive who had joined MKM was successful.

The Court found that the 9-month non-competition covenant was both necessary and enforceable to protect STARK UK’s confidential information, including its highly sensitive “Net Net Prices”, which were recognised as having clear value to a competitor. Importantly, the Court also confirmed that the scope and duration of the covenant went no further than reasonably necessary to safeguard those interests.

Huws Gray and MKM have been contacted, but have not commented.