Andover's Pure Cremation to be bought by private equity group Epiris

Andover-headquartered Pure Cremation, a provider of prepaid funeral plans in the UK, is to be bought by private equity group Epiris.

Financial terms were not disclosed about the deal, which is expected to close by the end of the year.

Pure provides prepaid funeral plans in the UK, allowing people to plan and pay for their own end-of-life arrangements.

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It also offers so-called direct cremations - simple, unattended cremations without a contemporaneous funeral service.

These offer a low-cost alternative to a traditional funeral and allow a deceased person’s family and friends to mark the loss at a time and place of their choosing.

"Pure is a real innovator," said Owen Wilson, partner at Epiris.

"It is built on a determination to offer a simple, respectful alternative to a traditional funeral and so operates to the very highest standards with great care taken at every stage of the process.

"The opportunity now for us is to take Pure to the next level in terms of scale and growth by bringing new experience and expertise into the business; we are excited to have partnered with Dean on this transaction and are looking forward to working with him and the Pure team to do just that."

Dean Lamble, formerly CEO of SunLife Insurance, will join Pure as its group CEO and will work with the incumbent team led by chief operating officer (COO) Mark Seastron and chief financial officer (CFO) Rob Murphy.

Epiris Fund III, advised by Epiris LLP, has agreed to the purchase and Alex Fortescue, managing partner at Epiris, commented: "We are delighted to announce this third investment for Fund III. Like those that have come before it, this ticks all the boxes for Epiris: it is an investment in a fundamentally strong business with a good position in an attractive market, to which we can bring the transformative power of fresh perspective and new skills."

Lamble added: "The direct cremation and pre-paid funeral market is undergoing a rapid transformation. Customers are favouring lower cost funeral options with their wishes clearly made known. Pure Cremation's exceptional customer focus means it is well placed to win in this market."

Pure Cremation operates a state-of-the-art crematorium near Andover, Hampshire from where it serves the whole of the UK.

Epiris invests in opportunities to transform businesses in partnership with exceptional management teams. It targets control positions in UK-headquartered businesses with an enterprise value of between £75 million and £500 million, deploying between £40 million and £150 million of equity.