Zillah Byng-Thorne breathes new life into Dignity funeral home
Responsible: Dignity boss Zillah Byng-Thorne
One of Britain’s leading female executives has breathed new life into Dignity.
Zillah Byng-Thorne, former boss of publisher Future, is in charge of reviving the funeral company’s fortunes after it was bought in 2023 in a deal led by insurance magnate Sir Peter Wood, the founder of Direct Line.
Dignity had struggled on the London Stock Exchange, posting big losses year after year, before being delisted 18 months ago as families turned to cheaper services and cut back on options such as funeral cars and hearses as cost savings. The life crisis hit the pockets.
The company was also hit by regulatory intervention in 2021 after the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) forced funeral directors to display standardized price lists and prevented them from doing business through the likes of care homes.
But under Byng-Thorne, 50, the company has shown signs of a comeback and is set to post a profit of £45 million by 2024, a 25 percent improvement on last year.
Under her leadership, Dignity has sold approximately 400 properties on its books and closed unprofitable outlets.
Byng-Thorne said: “These properties have been built up over the years as the company has bought up family funeral directors. Some have sat unused for years and have not even been rented. Remarkable actually.’
Some analysts have speculated that the company could quickly return to the London stock market once the turnaround is complete.
Byng-Thorne added: “This is an 18-month job. The company needs to build a solid foundation and then see some growth. But I think realistically it will take another five years before there is a meaningful exit.”
The company expanded its digital operations last week, acquiring end-of-life services provider Farewill for £13 million. Farewill offers online tools for writing wills, organizing estates and arranging cremations.
The hope is that the deal to buy digital start-up Dignity will help capture a bigger share of the death care services market, which is expected to reach £145 billion by the end of the decade as the West’s population ages .
Dignity, based in Sutton Coldfield in the West Midlands, is one of the country’s two major funeral companies, alongside Co-op Funeralcare.
It employs 3,500 people, has 600 branches, manages 45 crematoria and 27 cemeteries and has issued 361,500 prepaid funeral plans.
Dignity was taken private in April last year for £789m, including debt, by a consortium comprising SPW One, Wood’s investment vehicle, and
Castelnau Group, a London-listed investment company managed by Phoenix Asset Management Partners.
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