GOLDEN Charter has struck an alliance with Scottish Building Society to market its pre-paid funeral plans to the society's 30,000-plus members.
Bearsden-based Golden Charter, the UK's dominant provider of pre-paid funerals, said the deal broadens the range of services offered by Scotland's only independent building society.
It comes amid significant growth sales of pre-paid plans, sparked by rising funeral costs.
John Lloyd, head of sales at Scottish Building Society, said: "We are delighted to be working with Golden Charter to bring our members a product which provides peace of mind and can help make things easier for loved ones at a difficult time."
Sales of plans grew by nine per cent to be worth more than £500 million last year, figures from the Funeral Planning Authority found.
More than 135,000 plans were sold, with 38 per cent provided by Golden Charter.
The average funeral in the UK now costs £3609, a recent study by Mintel found, nearly 90 per cent more than a decade ago.
Funeral costs have been growing because of steadily increase local authority crematorium fees and as people look to have increasingly elaborate send-offs.
At the same time the funeral sector has still to see the benefit of falling energy prices.
Plans can also lift of burden of funeral planning from family and friends of the deceased.
Michael Cornish of Golden Charter, which works on behalf of more than 3000 independent funeral directors, said: "As an organisation owned by an association of independent funeral directors, we at Golden Charter can identify with many of the values by Scotland's only independent building society and its members, making this an ideal partnership.
"We look forward to working with Scottish Building Society for many years to come."
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