Schmidlin UK bought by German specialist

The UK division of cladding contractor Schmidlin has been bought by German specialist group Lindner. The move, struck earlier in the month and confirmed in a statment by Lindner this week, ensures the 250-strong workforce at the cladding firm, which is working on a string of high-profile projects in central London.

The new firm will be called Lindner Schmidlin Facades. The statement said that Lindner, which offers specialist trades including interior fit-out services in markets such as airports, already had a cladding arm in Germany but now hoped to become "one of the major players in curtain walling worldwide". The statement added that Schmidlin UK had also secured financial backing "from a highly regarded international contracting group".

Lindner said new facade production sites for the enhanced cladding division would be located in Germany and the Czech Republic. Lindner is currently working on two of the biggest projects in the UK currently under construction - the new Wembley stadium and Heathrow's Terminal 5 project.