turnbull funeral directors - independent and family run since 1790

What turnbull funeral directors - independent and family run since 1790 does

E Turnbull & Son Limited, trading as Turnbull Funeral Directors, is an independent, family-owned funeral director founded in 1790 in North Shields, United Kingdom, and now operating under its seventh generation of Turnbull family leadership with Managing Director Jane Broadhead and Director Ben Broadhead. The company provides a full suite of funeral services to bereaved families across North Shields, Tynemouth, Cullercoats, Whitley Bay, Wallsend and Newcastle upon Tyne, including traditional funerals, attended and unattended cremations, woodland burials, unattended burials, children's funerals, ash scattering, and bereavement support, delivered from a North Shields headquarters (Albion Road, NE29 0HE) and a Newcastle upon Tyne branch (331 Benton Road, NE7 7EE), with 24/7 phone availability and home-visit consultations.

The product portfolio spans funeral services, prepaid funeral plans distributed through a Golden Charter partnership (with FCA authorisation held by Golden Charter, FRN:965279), coffin and urn retail (including the Loop Living Cocoon mushroom mycelium coffin and GreenLeaf-certified eco options), hearse and limousine hire, unusual hearses, flowers, funeral stationery, in-memory pins, music, online tributes and funeral streaming, memorial jewellery from £99, headstones, outdoor memorials, and funeral reception hospitality. Pricing is publicly disclosed and tiered from £1,825 (unattended cremation) to £4,514 (attended cremation with two limousines), with prepaid Gold/Silver/Bronze plans at £4,542/£4,147/£3,852 and monthly instalment options from £19.01 for prepaid plans.

The business model is a hybrid of one-time at-need funeral service revenue, recurring/subscription-style prepaid plan revenue routed through Golden Charter (with funds held in the Golden Charter Trust, £1.21 billion AUM as of March 2024), and ancillary hardware/memorial product sales. Distribution is direct-to-consumer via phone, in-person at funeral homes, and home visits, supplemented by an online enquiry channel; community sponsorships (North Shields junior football, Tynemouth Golf Club juniors, YMCA North Tyneside), charity partnerships (PROPS, Daft as a Brush), and a SAIF membership underpin trust-based customer acquisition in the local market. The company holds no external investors, no parent company, and is regulated by the CMA under the Funerals Market Investigation Order 2021 and by the FCA via Golden Charter for its prepaid plan business.

Name

turnbull funeral directors - independent and family run since 1790

Legal name

E Turnbull & Son Limited

Website

https://eturnbull.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1790

Operating status

Operating

Short description

E Turnbull & Son Limited, trading as Turnbull Funeral Directors, is a seventh-generation, family-owned UK funeral director founded in 1790, serving bereaved families across North Shields, Tynemouth, Cullercoats, Whitley Bay, Wallsend and Newcastle upon Tyne with traditional funerals, cremations, woodland burials, prepaid funeral plans and memorial products from two branches with 24/7 availability.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Funeral Services

NAICS

Funeral Homes and Funeral Services (812210), Funeral Homes and Funeral Services (81221)

akta.pro primary industry

Bereavement & Grief Support Services (Family Aftercare) (HSABAFAI)

Keywords

• Funeral services
• Cremation services
• Prepaid funeral plans
• Burial services
• Bereavement support

Headquarters

HQ city

North Shields

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Funeral Services: One-time funeral arrangement services including traditional funerals, cremations, woodland burials, direct cremations, unattended burials, and children's funerals. Revenue from professional services, transportation, and coordination.
2. Prepaid Funeral Plans: Prepaid funeral plans through Golden Charter partnership ranging from £1,785 to £4,514. Options include unattended cremation, attended cremation with hearses and limousines. Customers pay upfront or in monthly installments.
3. Funeral Products: Sale of coffins, urns, caskets, memorial jewellery, headstones, flowers, funeral stationery, and memorial products
4. Professional Services: Chapel of rest visits, family viewings, documentation assistance, bereavement support, and funeral coordination services

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

E Turnbull & Son provides funeral arrangement, burial, cremation, woodland burial, children's funeral, and ash scattering services across North Tyneside and Newcastle upon Tyne. The company sells prepaid funeral plans through Golden Charter partnership (Gold, Silver, and Bronze tiers). Additional offerings include coffins, urns, hearses, limousines, funeral stationery, memorial jewellery, headstones, outdoor memorials, funeral reception hospitality, online tributes, and bereavement support resources.

Product overview

E Turnbull & Son is a traditional funeral director service providing a comprehensive range of funeral-related products and services. The core offering consists of funeral service arrangements including traditional funerals, direct cremation (unattended), unattended burial, woodland burial, children's funerals, and ash scattering services. The company offers pre-paid funeral planning through a Golden Charter partnership with Gold, Silver, and Bronze plan tiers. Supporting products and add-on services include coffin and urn options (including the innovative Loop Living Cocoon mushroom coffin), hearses and limousines, floral arrangements, funeral stationery, memorial jewellery, headstones, and outdoor memorials. Additional services encompass funeral reception hospitality, online tributes, and bereavement support resources.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Traditional Funeral

Quantifiable outcome

• 5-star Google rating
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• YMCA North TynesideminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 December 2023Turnbull's sponsors French and Spanish lessons for children at the YMCA North Tyneside nursery classes in North Shields, and supports the YMCA hot meal initiative. Part of their commitment to community support.
• Daft as a BrushminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 June 2023Daft as a Brush is a local charity specializing in transporting cancer patients to and from hospital for chemotherapy/radiotherapy treatment free of charge. Turnbull's helped raise over £3,343 through their Gosforth Golf Challenge event.
• Golden ChartercoreGTM or Marketing PartnerTurnbull's is an appointed representative of Golden Charter Limited, offering prepaid funeral plans to customers. Golden Charter is one of the UK's largest funeral plan providers with over 30 years experience. Plans allow customers to prepay for funerals at today's prices with funds held in the Golden Charter Trust (£1.21 billion under management as of March 2024).
• PROPS Family Recovery ServicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPROPS supports people whose lives are affected by someone else's drug or alcohol use. Ben Broadhead serves as a trustee on the PROPS board. Turnbull's actively participates in PROPS activities including AGM attendance and community support.
• North Shields Junior Football TeamsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTurnbull's sponsors local junior football teams as part of community support initiatives.
• Tynemouth Golf Club JuniorsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTurnbull's sponsors Tynemouth Golf Club junior programme as part of their community engagement.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Dignity plc: One of the UK's largest funeral services providers with ~800 funeral locations nationwide. Competes directly with Turnbull's in the broader UK funeral director market but operates at vastly greater scale, serving as the listed-sector benchmark for independent funeral directors' competitive dynamics.
• Co-op Funeralcare: The UK's largest funeral director with ~1,000 funeral homes. Operates branches across the North East including Newcastle area, directly competing with Turnbull's for traditional funeral business while offering greater scale, pricing flexibility, and brand recognition.

Direct peers

• Funeral Partners: Acquirer of multiple independent UK funeral directors, operating a portfolio of regional funeral homes with similar local-brand positioning. Highly comparable to Turnbull's as a multi-branch independent operator, with similar service portfolio including prepaid plans and direct cremation.
• GreenAcres Woodland Burials: UK operator of natural woodland burial parks and eco-friendly funeral services. Closely comparable to Turnbull's eco-friendly offerings (woodland burials, mushroom coffin), competing for the same sustainability-oriented segment of the death care market.
• Westerleigh Group: One of the UK's largest privately-owned crematoria operators with 40+ sites across the country. Comparable to Turnbull's as a private-sector UK death care provider, with overlapping funeral service and cremation-related offerings.
• Lever & Co Funeral Directors: Established independent family-run funeral director in the North East of England. Closely comparable to Turnbull's in terms of family ownership, regional focus, traditional service orientation, and customer base of local bereaved families.

Emerging players

• Pure Cremation: UK's leading direct cremation specialist, offering unattended cremations from a low fixed price via a digital-only model. Competes with Turnbull's lowest-priced option (£1,825) by undercutting on cost, representing the disruptive pricing pressure on traditional funeral directors.
• Simplicity Cremations: Low-cost unattended cremation provider operating across the UK with transparent fixed pricing. Directly competes with Turnbull's unattended cremation offering and represents the price-led end of the funeral market that is reshaping industry economics.

Others

• Golden Charter: One of the UK's largest funeral plan providers with over 30 years' experience and £1.21B under trust management as of March 2024. Turnbull's is an appointed representative of Golden Charter, making it both a key partner and a strategic dependency for the prepaid funeral plan revenue stream.
• SAIF (National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors): UK trade body for independent funeral directors of which Turnbull's is a member. Represents the network and standards framework that Turnbull's competes within, and is comparable as a peer in the sense that it represents the collective competitive positioning of independent UK funeral directors against national chains.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/eturnbullandson
• Facebookfacebook.com/eturnbullandson
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/e-turnbull-son-ltd
• Instagraminstagram.com/eturnbullandson

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about turnbull funeral directors - independent and family run since 1790