Funeral firm Dignity swept up by investors in £281m takeover deal

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Funeral firm Dignity has been swept up by a group of investors linked to its former chief executive in a takeover move worth around £281 million, as it cautioned investors over tumbling profits. A bidding consortium consisting of SPWOne V Ltd and Castelnau Group, whose investment manager is Phoenix Asset Management Partners, made a final offer of 550p per each share, which Dignity said it had accepted. Gary Channon, former chief executive officer of Dignity, co-founded Phoenix and works as its chief investment officer, which Dignity said will allow investors to benefit from his previous leadership. “We are offering a very fair price in cash, or shareholders can stay on the journey with us as we look to implement our strategy to create significant value over the medium term.” Dignity also revealed on Monday that it expects its underlying operating profits to have more than halved last year compared to the previous year, hitting a maximum of £20 million, down from £55.8 million in 2021.