Dignity swoops for online end-of-life services provider in £13m deal
Dignity, the Sutton Coldfield funeral provider, is set to acquire online end-of-life services firm Farewill in a deal worth almost £13m.
Farewill, founded in 2015 by Dan Garrett (its current CEO) and Tom Rogers, offers a range of later-life products, including wills, probate, at-need funerals, and pre-paid funeral plans.
Castelnau-owned Dignity says the £12.9m deal will help it broaden its audience, enhance customer experience, expand its product offering, modernise its technology infrastructure and further strengthen its talent pool.
The acquisition will be financed through a share-for-share exchange, with the majority of Farewill shareholders becoming Castelnau shareholders. In exchange, Castelnau will increase its holding in Valderrama (the joint venture with Sir Peter Wood’s SPWOne through which Castelnau holds its stake in Dignity). To fund its share of the acquisition, Castelnau expects to issue approximately 9.6 million shares based on an issue price of 99p per share.
Subject to the successful completion of the transaction, Castelnau will increase its ownership of Valderrama by 5.6 million shares to 199.9 million shares, representing 66.0% of Valderrama’s issued share capital.
Completion of the acquisition is subject to FCA approval and is not expected to occur before 1 January 2025.
Richard Brown, CEO of Castelnau, said: “The addition of Farewill to Dignity’s offering embodies Castelnau’s strategic ambitions for Dignity, helping Dignity to drive its digital transformation and serve its customers even better. Adding Farewill’s will and probate services to Dignity’s current offerings will expand Dignity’s touchpoints with customers throughout their entire `end-of-life’ journey. We are pleased the structuring of the transaction has also allowed us to increase our ownership in Dignity, a business where we continue to see a significant value-creation opportunity.”
Dan Garrett, CEO of Farewill, added: “At Farewill, our mission has always been to make the end-of-life experience as straightforward and stress-free as possible. Joining forces with Dignity allows us to stay true to that mission while benefiting from the experience and resources of a company that has been a trusted name for generations. Farewill will continue to operate independently, with our own brand and focus, serving a growing audience that values the convenience and transparency of our services – alongside contributing to the group as we explore ways of improving every customers’ experience.”
