This may be a little weird to some, but for other's it may be quite interesting.

Our client has recently secured planning for a 46 acre cemetery in Lichfield, Birmingham.

He has been wondering what to do with it, as the site requires around £3m in capital investment to get it up and running as a working cemetery/crematorium. He spent the last 6 years and nearly £600k cash in getting the planning approved and has battled all the way, as this usage is very difficult to get via the councils who like to run their own sites.

After much deliberation with my father's company, who represent him as his Accountants, and have done so since 1992, he decided to engage us and offer: 4,200 plots to the 'land/property investor' market who can share in the growth of the prices on the cost of burial plots, and can help him raise the initial capital and get a secured investment from it which appreciates in value.

No, you aren't buying the burial plot, as some may find that a little disturbing and you aren't allowed to use the plots for personal/family use.. This is a land banking opportunity, and it just happens the end buyers for these 'plots' will be burying their loved ones instead of building a house or the like. Burial plots, appreciate by around £100 per plot per annum.

Birmingham city council run most sites: £1700 fee across sites for a burial plot.
Walsall/Streetly cemeteries: £1400 per plot.
Both generally rise by £100 per plot per annum for un-sold burial areas.

Our client is offering these plots at: £875.00 per plot.
He is contracting in with each and every buyer who gets an 'option' on the plot to complete the site works and have them on the market by March 2012, where the on site management company will resell these starting at £1,200 per plot rising per annum. Also completing all the other works/trimmings around these memorial services.

My family have been helping to run a funeral director's in Birmingham since 1994, so we know all about this area hence got involved with this from the outset.

Our local mosque, bought 1,200 plots instantly as they buy around 300 for clients across the cemeteries in Bham annually, so they have saved their clients a lot of money over the course of the next few years.

Other buyers have rushed in, and so far we have sold: Further 450 to private individuals in the UK and abroad, and also companies. As this is a good place to put your money as a passive investment, with a strong end market potential. The site was released on this basis by us in October formally.

It has been covered in the press for this area, and for articles around this topic in case any of you may be interested in this concept:

http://www.birminghampost.net/news/newsagg..._page.html

http://www.moneyweek.com/news-and-charts/c...37004.aspx

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2010/oct/1...investment

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/health-n...-22539023/

http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/news...ticle.html

Sorry if this has depressed or upset anyone, but these services have to be provided, and as conventional funding has become very expensive/not available, the owner of the site has decided to go down this route.

This is a SIPP Compatible product, and some clients have already ported their SIPP products onto this.
Sales are going very well, and we are thinking of having a price rise in March 2011, as that will be the annual price rise for this site ongoing for all the plots/services.

To answer other questions you may have:
Full planning docs available, site plans, plot plans,
Contracts are legally binding, and the owner owns this site in a personal basis, no LTD/LLP in the way here.
This is NOT A CIS that were shut down by the FSA a number of years ago, as each investor is a buyer and is independent from one another. The site already has planning, and the end market is clearly identified with pricing realistic and comparable to other sites already operating. The guardian also verified this before doing their editorial above a few weeks back.

Any questions/comments to me directly on: kam@mhasnain.co.uk
or on here.. not really a RRS topic, but a lot of members on here are in Business/have other investments and may consider this, so a worthwhile post i hope and one that if you aren't interested in, still find it a interesting way of looking at things!

Of course on this investment, there is 0% interest financing package available over 12 months.
Thanks for reading..

.... How many plots do you get in 46 acres ?

Interesting one !

Hi mate.

You get on average 1-2k plots in an acre.
However depends on roads, paths, gardens etc.
Also how crammed an operator makes it.

Older sites tend to be very congested.
These plots aren't that congested and the site in full will outlive most of us and will take decades to fill.
There will be normal lawn plots, woodland, cremated remain plots etc.
The plots within this scheme are normal lawn plots.

At first I can tell you, even I shyed away from this as it seems a little weird, but then after doing some research and reading into the topic and speaking to our guys who buy plots for the customers, it became apparent that this is a good deal. My father himself has moved £100k of his Sipp from a Property in Bristol into this!

We anticipate it will take 4-6 years to sell around 5-6k plots on the site.

kam100 wrote:

This may be a little weird to some, but for other's it may be quite interesting.

Our client has recently secured planning for a 46 acre cemetery in Lichfield, Birmingham.

He has been wondering what to do with it, as the site requires around £3m in capital investment to get it up and running as a working cemetery/crematorium. He spent the last 6 years and nearly £600k cash in getting the planning approved and has battled all the way, as this usage is very difficult to get via the councils who like to run their own sites.

After much deliberation with my father's company, who represent him as his Accountants, and have done so since 1992, he decided to engage us and offer: 4,200 plots to the 'land/property investor' market who can share in the growth of the prices on the cost of burial plots, and can help him raise the initial capital and get a secured investment from it which appreciates in value.

No, you aren't buying the burial plot, as some may find that a little disturbing and you aren't allowed to use the plots for personal/family use.. This is a land banking opportunity, and it just happens the end buyers for these 'plots' will be burying their loved ones instead of building a house or the like. Burial plots, appreciate by around £100 per plot per annum.

Birmingham city council run most sites: £1700 fee across sites for a burial plot.
Walsall/Streetly cemeteries: £1400 per plot.
Both generally rise by £100 per plot per annum for un-sold burial areas.

Our client is offering these plots at: £875.00 per plot.
He is contracting in with each and every buyer who gets an 'option' on the plot to complete the site works and have them on the market by March 2012, where the on site management company will resell these starting at £1,200 per plot rising per annum. Also completing all the other works/trimmings around these memorial services.

My family have been helping to run a funeral director's in Birmingham since 1994, so we know all about this area hence got involved with this from the outset.

Our local mosque, bought 1,200 plots instantly as they buy around 300 for clients across the cemeteries in Bham annually, so they have saved their clients a lot of money over the course of the next few years.

Other buyers have rushed in, and so far we have sold: Further 450 to private individuals in the UK and abroad, and also companies. As this is a good place to put your money as a passive investment, with a strong end market potential. The site was released on this basis by us in October formally.

It has been covered in the press for this area, and for articles around this topic in case any of you may be interested in this concept:

http://www.birminghampost.net/news/newsagg..._page.html

http://www.moneyweek.com/news-and-charts/c...37004.aspx

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2010/oct/1...investment

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/health-n...-22539023/

http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/news...ticle.html

Sorry if this has depressed or upset anyone, but these services have to be provided, and as conventional funding has become very expensive/not available, the owner of the site has decided to go down this route.

This is a SIPP Compatible product, and some clients have already ported their SIPP products onto this.
Sales are going very well, and we are thinking of having a price rise in March 2011, as that will be the annual price rise for this site ongoing for all the plots/services.

To answer other questions you may have:
Full planning docs available, site plans, plot plans,
Contracts are legally binding, and the owner owns this site in a personal basis, no LTD/LLP in the way here.
This is NOT A CIS that were shut down by the FSA a number of years ago, as each investor is a buyer and is independent from one another. The site already has planning, and the end market is clearly identified with pricing realistic and comparable to other sites already operating. The guardian also verified this before doing their editorial above a few weeks back.

Any questions/comments to me directly on: kam@mhasnain.co.uk
or on here.. not really a RRS topic, but a lot of members on here are in Business/have other investments and may consider this, so a worthwhile post i hope and one that if you aren't interested in, still find it a interesting way of looking at things!

Of course on this investment, there is 0% interest financing package available over 12 months.
Thanks for reading..

I bet people are dying to get their hands on a deal like that!  FF 4.4 V8 Soooo looking forward to this bad boy
Ex 2006 RRS SC - garbage
Ex 2016 135i M Sport - dream car
Ex 2003 RS6 Avant - piece of cr*p
Ex 2014 320d X Drive, M Sport Touring - ok I guess
Ex 2007 RRS TDV8 - bloody loved it
EX 2007 FL2 XS - not so bad

Yep.. other's i have heard are: "It's a dead cert".

Lord Alan Sugar commented on it saying, "I bet it's a dead business"

And my bank manager said.. "don't let it become a dead end job"..

kam100 wrote:

You get on average 1-2k plots in an acre.

I assume it's the dead centre if Lichfield....  RRS 3.0 SDV6 Autobiography Dynamic MY16 Firenze Red.
BMW 520 M Sport Saloon Space Grey 2015 Silver
Previous:
RRS 3.0 TDV6 HSE 2010 Stornoway Grey
RRS 2.7 TDV6 HSE 2007 Stornoway Grey - R.I.P.

Indeed...

Dignity PLC own 30 cemeteries and crematoria in the UK (Came from US).
£176m turnover in 2009, and £37m pre tax profit.

Gresham PLC have put £15m into the site in Kent as pet the article above.
They have expressed interest in discussions for our site, but they want an equity stake and a controlling share, which is not something we want to let them have at the moment.

The site will turn over £1m - £3m per annum quite easily looking at cases with other sites.
Councils most sub the work to other companies, hence don't generate a lot of money from them, and it's the old sites which become problematic with H&S over gravestones etc and theft.
New sites are kept quite clean and consistent, and will be easier to maintain as gaps are left for mowers etc to get round. I have seen some old cemeteries and they are so crammed in, the grass has to be cut on foot with a strimmer so takes days.

It's an exciting prospect.
Investor plots: Buy in £875, sell out minimum £1,200 (current estimation)
£325.00 gross on exit profit.

The mosque has completed on 1,200 plots and paid a little less then £875 per plot, they currently buy at £1700 in Birmingham council run sites, so if they sell it to their customers direct through their in house funeral home, and pass on some saving, say: £1,300 per plot: They are looking at a Gross increase of £510k gross at the standard £875 buy in..

Oh and, £875 is only for the 4,200 'investor' plots, the rest after the investor plots will be sold on, are going to go at full market rate of £1,200 +. So the maths make even more sense for the future.

Crematorium is the key to the site though, as well as the other types of plots: Woodland, Crem remain plots, memorials, gardens etc..

Been going on this for a while now.
2,400 plots sold.
Website here: www.springhillcemetery.co.uk
Sipp approved, 35% bought using pension funds.
24 months interest free plans available.
Prices now £925 per plot.
Two other sites in pipeline one in kent the other in rugby.

Just reading this with my morning cuppa............... And what is on the radio ???


Jam........Underground 08 2.7 RRS "S"
Td5 110......very modified
RS 5
Kawasaki ZX12R me, it's quick !

Yes, we have had an extremely positive response.

In 12 months we have sold 3,900 plots on our first site.
Have; Carey pensions, lifetime sipp plc, Berkeley Burke and a few other pension administrators on board.

These 'assets' perform better than most property type deals currently.
We have 300 plots left on site 1, we have the 2nd site through planning and are due to launch in march. There will be 2,200 plots available to the sipp and private purchase market on that site.

The website for site one can be seen here: www.springhillcemetery.co.uk
36 months interest free draw down plans are available.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/persona...qus_thread