We didn’t quite make it through the week without being able to give you another article which again shows a “bullishness” in the greater Death Care profession and industry.  As I’ve noticed several times recently, at the same time that many Death Care retail operators are “skittish” about the future of their business it seems that the more global professional money managers who direct the investments of private investors are continuing to be bullish in the profession. . . if their investments in Death Care are any indication.

Just this week we received this press release which lets us know that Serent Capital has made an investment in Death Care company Plotbox.  Acording to the press release, “PlotBox is the innovative cloud-based deathcare management solution that helps cemeteries, crematories and funeral homes to excel. The intuitive, easy-to-use platform seamlessly places all essential deathcare management functions into one place. This enables customers to serve better, save time, increase revenue, reduce risk – and sustain long-term growth. The 120-strong company is headquartered in Northern Ireland, with on-the-ground teams in the United States and Australia”.

Sean McAllister, CEO of PlotBox had this to say in his remarks that appeared in the press release, ” . . . We wanted a partner whose values aligned with our own, helping to support our mission to help take away some of the pain in dealing with death for families and those that serve them. We’re focused on bettering the industry by raising standards within the profession and this partnership will help us to realize that.”

Lance Fenton, a Partner at Serent Capital had this to say in prepared remarks, “PlotBox has established itself as the premier platform in the deathcare market, offering a comprehensive and highly differentiated product.  We are thrilled to support their vision and help drive the company’s growth across the entirety of the deathcare industry.”

Here is the Serent Capital website that includes their press release.

Here is the PlotBox website that includes their press release.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily take:  It was somewhat tongue-in-cheek that I mentioned we could not get through the week without another investment in Death Care by private equity. That seems to be happening more and more bringing big business into what for a century has been small independent operators.

And while I understand change is hard for many — especially home town funeral directors who have “lived the life” of taking care of their community.  The fact that private equity is continuing to invest in Death Care should let us know that we have built a valuable commodity with our businesses.

Private equity is a reality all around the greater Death Care community at this time.  There is no doubt that the money they bring to the table will change the “business”.  However, the simple fact that they are investing in the industry/profession should tell us that our businesses may be more valuable, or have better growth potential, than we realize.

Many regional consolidators are financed with private equity capital which possibly allows owners to exit their business with higher values than might be available if those consolidators were not, at least sometimes, competing for the purchase.  And, it is not just funeral homes that are gaining value from these sales but the new technological businesses that are being formed to help the retail Death Care market —  some firms that you might do business with such as MJK Marketing, Frazer Consultants, SRS Computing, Tukios, Legacy.com and more on the periphery of funeral service are, or at one time, were part of private equity investors.

I think it is important to understand that some of us in the family funeral home business that are worrying about our revenue per service moving downward and see only a negative spiral for funeral service have a completey different outlook on our business than some in the professional financial markets do.  Only time will tell who is seeing it right.

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