Dignity Group

Dignity Group is a funeral-related service provider in the United Kingdom.

Dignity Group

Industry	Funeral services
Founded	1994
Headquarters	Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, UK
Key people	Shirley Garrood, Non-Executive Chair Zillah Byng-Thorne, CEO
Revenue	£314.1 million (2021)
Operating income	£15.9 million (2021)
Website	www.dignityfunerals.co.uk
Footnotes / references Dignity plc Annual Report & Accounts 2020

History

The business was created in 1994 through the merger of Plantsbrook Group and Great Southern Group,^[1] both of which companies had been acquired by Service Corporation International Inc earlier that year.^[2] In 2002 the merged business was the subject of a management buyout from Service Corporation International Inc.^[3] The merger brought together a number of funeral service businesses.^[1]

There are currently 795 Dignity Funeral Directors across the UK. Several mergers and organic growth have brought together a number of historic funeral businesses, private cemeteries and crematoria over the years, including:

• George S Munn, Glasgow – 1812
• Francis Chappell & Sons, London – 1840
• J Rymer, York – 1848
• Ginns & Gutteridge, Leicestershire – 1855
• Lawrence Funeral Service, Halifax – 1857
• E Finch & Sons, Aldershot – 1857
• Beckenham Cemetery, Kent – 1876
• J H Kenyon, London – 1880
• Frederick W Paine, London – 1884
• Perry Barr Crematorium, Birmingham – 1903
• John Bardgett & Son, Newcastle upon Tyne – 1914
• Jonathan Harvey, Glasgow – 1928
• South London Crematorium – 1930
• Seaford & Newhaven Funeral Service, East Sussex – 1950

In January 2023, the board agreed to accept an offer for the company from a consortium of investors including SPWOne V Ltd, Castelnau Group and Phoenix Asset Management.^[4]

Operations

Dignity provides funeral services, cremations and pre-arranged funerals UK-wide through three separate brands:^[5]

• Dignity Funeral Services
• The Crematorium and Memorial Group
• Simplicity Cremations