Funeral provider Dignity agrees to £280m takeover

Britain’s largest-listed funeral provider, Dignity, has agreed to a £280m takeover after months of battling a shift among people to opt for cheaper options.

A consortium of existing investors, led by Gary Channon, Dignity’s former chief executive, and Sir Peter Wood, the founder of Direct Line, is buying the business at almost a 30pc premium to its closing price before talks were revealed. It comes after Dignity, which owns more than 700 funeral locations, said its full profits would be dented by rising costs, including for coffins. It has also struggled with a growing number of people choosing cheaper funerals.

Dignity previously warned that it needed to raise at least £70m to repay bondholders.