Dignity’s shares have got new lease of life as the funeral business announces a revamp

Funeral firm Dignity saw its share price rise from the grave today, as the business announced it had roped in advisers to help it battle competitors.

Dignity has appointed LEK Consulting as it attempts to hold its own in a funeral service price war – a move which boosted its shares by more than 15 per cent.

It said the advisory firm would help it understand the relationship between price, service and volume, develop a more “streamlined network operating mode” that will help lower costs, and create a “modern, efficient, central operating model”.

Read more: Dignity funeral provider’s shares down over 50 per cent after pricing change

“We have now begun a new chapter for Dignity and for the funeral business in particular,” said chief executive Mike McCollum.

“We are the only business with a national network of funeral and crematoria locations, giving us a unique position in the evolving funeral market.”

Dignity also revealed preliminary 2017 results yesterday, which showed revenue up by three per cent to £324m and operating profit rising marginally from £97.7m to £98m.

Analysts at Peel Hunt said the numbers were slightly behind expectations, and trialling changes to traditional pricing could hit profits.

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