INVESTMENT ACTIVITY

Australia’s largest funerals company has made a $4 million strategic investment in the private capital-backed company behind memories and online memorials website: memories.com.au.

InvoCare (ASX: IVC) announced on 11 August that it was investing in, and entering into a strategic partnership with, Melbourne-based Memories Group. InvoCare will offer Memories’ online memorial products to its clients.

InvoCare described its investment as an “initial shareholding” and said both parties recognised the strategic value InvoCare brought to Memories as a distribution channel and strategic partner. InvoCare noted that it could be granted additional shares over time, based on the success of the relationship.

“This partnership reflects InvoCare’s commitment to innovation and finding new opportunities to assist families in honouring life by celebrating memories of a loved one,” InvoCare chief executive Olivier Chretien said. “We are energised by the benefits and possibilities that Memories will provide to our client families, and our business.”

Memories chief executive Tom Ainsworth said: “Memories offers a market leading online memorial product so partnering with a market-leading funeral service provider like InvoCare is the ideal alliance for us.”

Memories completed a $31 million Series A capital raising only a couple of months ago (APE&VCJ, Jul 2021). Family offices, institutional investors and ultra-high-net-worth individuals invested in the raise.