Business

Spanwall acquired by Belfast private equity firm Cordovan Capital

L-R: Keith Toner, managing director of Spanwall; Stephen McClelland, managing director of Cordovan Capital Management; and Philip West, sales director of Spanwall.
L-R: Keith Toner, managing director of Spanwall; Stephen McClelland, managing director of Cordovan Capital Management; and Philip West, sales director of Spanwall. L-R: Keith Toner, managing director of Spanwall; Stephen McClelland, managing director of Cordovan Capital Management; and Philip West, sales director of Spanwall.
By Ryan McAleer

BELFAST-based private equity firm Cordovan Capital Management Limited has acquired architectural wall cladding specialist the Spanwall Group.

Founded in 1967, the company employs around 40 people from a factory in the Carryduff Business Park.

It has an extensive portfolio of projects across Ireland and Britain, including the Titanic Museum, the Central Bank of Ireland building in Dublin and Liverpool Street Station in London. It has also expanded into the Middle East, working on the Riyadh Metro Project in Saudi Arabia.

Spanwall recently secured accreditation for its fire-resistant cladding product, which could see it well placed for the major multi-billion-pound refurbishment and retrofitting programme expected to be rolled out in the UK to address the cladding crisis in the wake of the Grenfell tragedy.

Cordovan director Stephen McClelland said Spanwall had developed an international reputation for delivering innovative and bespoke projects.

“We believe it is well positioned to grow significantly in the coming years and look forward to supporting the management team and staff through the next stage of its development.

“The company has a fantastic engineering pedigree that is testament to its founders Eric Bell, Norman Bell and Tony Reid.

“We are delighted they will remain as shareholders alongside Keith Toner who will continue in his role as managing director.”

Mr Toner said: “Spanwall has been at the cutting edge of innovation in architectural cladding and façade systems for over 50 years and this acquisition by the fund will support the business as it continues to develop and grow.”