• Home
  • About
  • Subscribe
  • LATIF
  • Conferences
  • Dashboard
  • Edit My Profile
  • Log In
  • Logout
  • Register
  • Edit this post

Room 151

  • 151 BRIEF

    What's New?

  • Inflation ‘biggest concern for LGPS professionals’

    May 20, 2022

  • LGA calls for government support as regulators face staffing issues

    May 19, 2022

  • WMCA signs £4bn investment agreement with L&G

    May 18, 2022

  • Bill will give UK Infrastructure Bank power to lend directly to councils

    May 18, 2022

  • £400bn pension group collaborates on climate transition initiative

    May 17, 2022

  • CIPFA rejects proposal for vote on publication of fraud hub report

    May 17, 2022

  • Treasury
  • Technical
  • Funding
  • Resources
  • LGPS
  • Development
  • 151 News
  • Blogs
    • David Green
    • Agent 151
    • Dan Bates
    • Richard Harbord
    • Stephen Sheen
    • James Bevan
    • Steve Bishop
    • Cllr John Clancy
    • David Crum
    • Graham Liddell
    • Ian O’Donnell
    • Jackie Shute
  • Interviews
  • Briefs

Bereavement matters

0
  • by Guest
  • in Blogs · LGPS
  • — 20 Jul, 2021

Photo by link bekka on Unsplash

Sponsored article: James Penney looks at an investment in helping councils provide high quality bereavement services.

Nothing is certain but death and taxes said Benjamin Franklin and as a result, bereavement services are a key part of local authority infrastructure. The continuing pandemic has thrown into sharp focus both the importance of this core social infrastructure as well as the increasing shortage of supply, especially for burials.

There is a crippling lack of supply of burial space, with many councils’ cemeteries close to full capacity, and the rising trend in the UK deaths rate, which is anticipated to continue for the next 20 years, will only exacerbate this. Of course, we all know from government press conferences that there have been considerable “excess” deaths over the past fourteen months, but nevertheless the demographics still point to a gradual increase in the death rate for the next decade or so.

 


16 November 2021
London Stock Exchange or ONLINE
Room 151’s LGPS Investment Forum
Our annual gathering of administering authorities of the LGPS, their investment pools and advisers.
Qualifying local government investment officers can register here.


 

In March 2021, The Times published the results from data compiled on local authorities’ burial space across the UK, which showed that the residual time period before their existing council-owned cemeteries are full to capacity was as follows:

  • 17% have 5 years or less;
  • 25% have 10 years or less;
  • About 50% have 20 years or less.

At the same time, local authorities are also struggling to maintain standards in their crematoria provision. The increasing demand for cost-cutting in local council budgets means that councils are unable (note, not unwilling) to make the necessary investment to keep their sites competitive with private sector operators.

Furthermore, the recent CMA review of the sector was as critical of public sector price increases as it was of the private sector, putting further pressure on council finances which often rely on cremation fees as a key bulwark of their income.

Nevertheless, these bereavement services are a critical component of social infrastructure, as the pandemic has shown. We as a society need a properly funded, well managed “end of life” provision.

Furthermore, with the appropriate levels of investment and with a focus on operational excellence, such services can be managed to generate significant, predictable and sustainable income. As such, the sector represents a very attractive asset class for institutional investment: asset backed, income generating, un-correlated returns.

In response to these issues, in November 2018 Darwin Alternatives launched the Darwin Bereavement Services Fund. The fund’s strategy is to acquire and manage a portfolio of bereavement services assets to deliver sustainable, long-term, income for institutional investors.

Portfolio

Since launch, the fund has acquired a portfolio of six high-quality and differentiated cemetery and woodland ceremonial parks in the UK, operated under the GreenAcres brand. In March 2020 the fund acquired CDS Group, a bereavement services consulting business focused on feasibility, planning and design of new crematoria and cemeteries and environmental management services.

Clients include over 100 local authorities and CDS is a key player in the Environmental Stewardship Group which was launched in late 2020 and aims to lead the bereavement sector to sustainability.

In May 2021, DBSF acquired the UK’s third largest developer and operator of private crematoria and memorial parks, Memoria Ltd, which operates 11 crematoria and burial grounds alongside Low Cost Funeral Ltd (LCF), who are the leader in the provision of on-line funerals and direct cremations.

Investment returns from death is clearly a sensitive subject for local authorities (as for any institutional investor) but DBSF aims to take pressure off local authority and church providers.

 



Its mission is to provide an exceptional service to bereaved families and to serve their communities compassionately with affordable and appropriate funeral care.

The modest target return of 6-8% per annum ensures that there is a focus on building a stable and sustainable business which benefits the community, rather than a desire to generate ever bigger profits. Ultimately, local authorities need stable income streams to meet their pension or spending liabilities, and investments in bereavement services can provide this as well as delivering an essential service to local communities.

DBSF Key Characteristics

Assets under Management £225.6m as at 30 June 2021.
Stable, long-term yield with target total return of 6 to 8% p.a.
Target cash yield of 6% p.a. for income units

James Penney is chairman of Darwin Alternative Investment Management Limited.

Photo by link bekka on Unsplash

—————

FREE monthly newsletters
Subscribe to Room151 Newsletters

Room151 Linkedin Community
Join here

Monthly Online Treasury Briefing
Sign up here with a .gov.uk email address

Room151 Webinars
Visit the Room151 channel

 

Share

You may also like...

  • Why doesn’t LGPS make more noise about diversity among asset managers? 14th Oct, 2021
  • Prudential Code brings ‘clarity’ to investment strategies 14th Jan, 2022
  • Supplier management: The role of finance teams safeguarding essential services 25th Oct, 2021
  • Impact Awards: Liverpool’s cafe culture and Warrington’s investment in homes 9th Apr, 2021

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

  • Register to become a Room151 user

  • Latest tweets

    Room151 3 hours ago

    Investing today: nowhere to hide: Partner Content: Alex Stanley from Ardea Investment Management suggests that investors have few places to hide amid a synchronised sell-off in both bonds and equities. However, there are catalysts that[...] dlvr.it/SQlNVC pic.twitter.com/KkGGnduzPL

    Room151 24 hours ago

    Treasury to restrict PWLB loans to councils at risk of non-repayment: The Treasury has released new guidance that restricts local authorities’ access to Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) advances if there is a “more than negligible risk” of a council’s… dlvr.it/SQhLTV pic.twitter.com/vBsS7xMJdb

    Room151 24 hours ago

    Mixed reaction to proposed government intervention powers: There has been a mixed reaction to the government’s legislative plans to strengthen its intervention powers over local authority finances. The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill has proposed… dlvr.it/SQhLMB pic.twitter.com/50foWxpPGs

    Room151 1 day ago

    Post-Brexit struggles for national and local government regulators. @LGAcomms @NAOorguk Click the link below to read 🔻🔻 room151.co.uk/brief/lga-call… #Brexit #government pic.twitter.com/s3c8ySGy5G

    Room151 1 day ago

    CIPFA: a question of transparency: Roman Haluszczak’s campaign for publication of the independent report into the collapse of CIPFA’s London Counter Fraud Hub has been rejected again by the institute. He is now calling for[...] dlvr.it/SQgC5V pic.twitter.com/08fWsHFF4g

    Room151 2 days ago

    Back to the future for the PWLB: The Public Works Loan Board is tightening its lending criteria to ensure that loans will be repaid by local government borrowers. But, asks Peter Findlay, shouldn’t they have been doing[...] dlvr.it/SQcmmm pic.twitter.com/bVv4fe0Xlv

    Room151 2 days ago

    Great piece from Peter Findlay on the PWLB’s tightening of its lending criteria. He raises some pointed questions for the Treasury and explains why the ‘casino council’ characterisation was simplistic and inaccurate. #PWLB #localgov room151.co.uk/treasury/back-…

    Room151 2 days ago

    The Queen's speech highlighted the need for accelerating UK infrastructure investment into levelling up projects and cutting emissions. @UKInfraBank #QueensSpeech #ClimateAction #emissions Click the link below to read 🔻🔻 room151.co.uk/brief/bill-wil… pic.twitter.com/hFmF2veVIa

    Room151 2 days ago

    Huge funding heading to the @WestMids_CA from @landg. @andy4wm #LevellingUp #netzero #regeneration Click the link below to read 🔻🔻 room151.co.uk/brief/wmca-sig… pic.twitter.com/ajhZhia6mx

    Room151 2 days ago

    LGPS governance, Cagney and Lacey style: What regulatory response can be expected following the publication of the Good Governance project’s Phase 3 report and the closure of the Single Code of Practice consultation? Susan Black offers[...] dlvr.it/SQbfXf pic.twitter.com/xwqHOEu2AP

    Room151 3 days ago

    More evidence of the importance of emerging markets in the journey to net-zero. @BordertoCoast @BrunelPP @northernlgps @EAPensionFund @WYPF_LGPS Click the link below to read 🔻🔻 #LGPS #NetZero #NetZeroCarbon #EmergingMarkets room151.co.uk/brief/400bn-pe… pic.twitter.com/qCm0EGxzLn

    Room151 1 week ago

    ‘Urgent consultation’ issued in response to continuing audit delays: CIPFA and the Local Authority Scotland Accounts Advisory Committee (LASAAC) have announced another “urgent consultation” to consider proposals to address the latest issue that has led… dlvr.it/SQJ0kV pic.twitter.com/s6vw0bnGXO

  • Categories

    • 151 News
    • Agent 151
    • Audit
    • Blogs
    • Business rates
    • Chris Buss
    • Cllr John Clancy
    • Council tax
    • Dan Bates
    • David Crum
    • David Green
    • Development
    • Education
    • Forum
    • Funding
    • Governance
    • Graham Liddell
    • Housing
    • Ian O'Donnell
    • Infrastructure
    • Interviews
    • Jackie Shute
    • James Bevan
    • Jobs
    • Levelling up
    • LGPS
    • Mark Finnegan
    • Net Zero
    • Private markets
    • Recent Posts
    • Regulation
    • Resources
    • Responsible investing
    • Richard Harbord
    • Risk management
    • Social care
    • Stephen Fitzgerald
    • Stephen Sheen
    • Steve Bishop
    • Technical
    • Transport
    • Treasury
    • Uncategorized
    • William Bourne
  • Archives

    • 2022
    • 2021
    • 2020
    • 2019
    • 2018
    • 2017
    • 2016
    • 2015
    • 2014
    • 2013
    • 2012
    • 2011
  • Previous story SCAPE plan: How to reset a discount rate
  • Next story China fixed income: An asset class you cannot ignore?

© Copyright 2022 Room 151. Typegrid Theme by WPBandit.

0 shares
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies from this website.OK