Farewill
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | |
| Founded | July 24, 2015 in London, England |
| Founders |
|
| Headquarters | 27 Downham Rd, Dalston, , |
Area served | United Kingdom |
| Services | |
Number of employees | 84+[1] |
| Website | farewill |
Farewill is a private company based in London that provides will-writing, probate, and cremation services in the UK. The company was founded in 2015 and is registered in England and Wales with the Law Society.[2] In 2019, it was named the National Will Writing Firm of the Year.[3]
History
[edit]Farewill was founded in 2015 by Dan Garrett and Tom Rogers. Garrett was inspired to start the company after designing products for elderly residents in a care home in Tokyo.[4] He later organized funerals and gained a qualification in will writing, which led to the founding of Farewill.[5]
In 2016, Tracy Doree, an angel investor and founder of venture capital firm Kindred Capital, joined Farewill as its Chairperson.[6]
Services
[edit]Farewill offers will-writing (online and over the phone), a direct cremation service, a probate service, and a subscription-based will-update service. The company claims that users can complete an online will in 15 minutes for £90, with an additional £10 per year for unlimited updates.[7] Direct cremations start from £980.[8]
In response to concerns about data privacy, Farewill stated that user data is stored on Amazon's Secure Storage Service in Ireland and encrypted using AES-256 encryption.[9]
Charity Partnerships
[edit]Farewill has partnered with 50 UK charities, including Cancer Research UK, British Heart Foundation, Macmillan, The Royal British Legion, and Christian Aid.[10] The charities provide access to the will-writing service to encourage bequests to their organizations.
Funding and Investors
[edit]Farewill has undergone several funding rounds. In January 2019, the company raised £7.5 million in a series A round.[11] On July 8, 2020, Farewill raised £20 million in a series B round led by Highland Europe, with a valuation of £70 million.[12] This funding was intended to expand and improve their services across the UK.[13]
In 2023, Farewill crowdfunded at a valuation of £25,775,000, a reduction from the 2020 valuation.[14]
Farewill was acquired by funeral services provider Dignity in October 2024 for £12.9 million in stock. The deal was described by Tech Crunch as "a fire sale by just about any estimation".
References
[edit]- ^ "Farewill". LinkedIn. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
- ^ "Farewill Limited". The Law Society. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
- ^ "Night Of Celebration At The British Wills and Probate Awards". 2019-10-18. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
- ^ Symcox, Jonathan (2020-07-08). "£20m investment for death tech start-up". Business Cloud. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
- ^ Whitfield, Nick (2018-01-15). "Farewill Q&A — Dan Garrett, Farewill CEO". Kyan (Interview). Retrieved 2020-07-10.
- ^ "Tracy Doree". AngelList. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
- ^ Scammell, Robert (2020-07-08). "Will-writing startup Farewill raises £20m to tackle funeral poverty". VERDICT. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
- ^ "Simple Cremations". MaxLyte. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
- ^ Lomas, Natasha (2016-11-21). "UK startup Farewill wants to give will-writing a web-based makeover". Tech Crunch. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
- ^ May, Melanie (2019-01-22). "Online will-writing service Farewill completes £7.5m capital raise". UK Fundraising.
- ^ Adler, Timothy (2019-01-22). "Will-writing disruptor Farewill raises £8m from Daily Mail and others". Growth Business. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
- ^ Heathman, Amelia (2020-07-08). "Farewill: the funeral and will-writing start-up on a mission to change how we deal with death". Evening Standard. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
- ^ Musgrove, Annie (2020-07-08). "London-based Farewill gets £20 million to modernise UK's death care industry". Tech.eu. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
- ^ https://www.crowdcube.com/companies/farewill/pitches/q4Mapl