12 March 2024 – Award-winning broadcaster UKTV has today announced a £1 million investment in funeral planning service, Legacy of Lives through its venture fund. The initial deal is worth £1 million of airtime, with a mutual option to extend the deal by a further £2 million once launched.

Legacy of Lives is a free, online service dedicated to making funeral planning simpler, more affordable, and more personal. The company provides support to individuals and families during what may be the most stressful times of their lives, helping them make informed decisions.

Founded by serial entrepreneur Rebecca Peach in 2019 after witnessing first-hand the pain and fragmentation of organising a family funeral, Legacy of Lives is the UKs only supportive digital funeral planner and price comparison site.

Arranging a funeral can be stressful, frustrating, expensive, and hugely time-consuming, especially during a time of grief. To address these challenges, we offer digital pre-planning and at-need access, providing planners with a price comparison overview and direct contact to over 5,000 funeral providers. This allows them to make sense of the plethora of options without the need for manual interaction or visiting a funeral director, making the process easier and more accessible.

UKTV Ventures’ multimillion “airtime-for-equity” investment sees Legacy of Lives launch its first TV advertising campaign from April 2024 on the broadcaster’s seven linear channels – Dave, W, Gold, Alibi, Drama, Yesterday, Eden. Legacy of Lives will go on air to over 25 million viewers a month and in return, UKTV will gain an equity stake in the business. The partnership will enable Legacy of Lives to exponentially increase brand awareness as it looks to achieve its mission to educate and empower millions on end-of-life matters.

The investment will help the business continue to grow and reach consumers and support them for free with access to many resources and over 5000 funeral directors to compare and reach out to. There is no easy way to plan a funeral but with Legacy of Lives there is a better way.  

Rebecca Peach, Founder and CEO of Legacy of Lives, said, “We are delighted to collaborate with UKTV.  This campaign will help us reach more people and offer them more guidance and choice during very difficult and stressful times.  There is a significant number of people going into debt because of funeral costs, we think the support from UKTV will help so many people.

“This support marks a significant step towards fulfilling our vision of becoming the go-to destination for funeral planning and support. With the costs of dying and funerals spiralling, there is no better time to get more people pre-planning funerals and also comparing the wide range of prices and choices they have when organising a funeral.”

Brendan Kilcawley, Director of UKTV Ventures, said: “We’ve been so impressed with Legacy of Lives, as well as the technology and service they’ve created to support people in planning a funeral. We are excited by the launch of Legacy of Lives’ first TV ad campaign, which is set to significantly boost awareness of their valuable service. It’s powerful offering is certain to strike a chord with UKTV viewers throughout the network, and we’re genuinely pleased to help Legacy of Lives become the go-to destination for funeral planning.”

The TV advertising will run nationally on all UKTV channels from April 2024

UKTV Ventures is committed to helping companies new to TV advertising build their brand and scale up by benefiting from the wide reach, trust and recognition only achieved through TV advertising. Similar to venture capital, UKTV Ventures is a funding model which invests airtime, instead of cash, in burgeoning high-growth companies looking to accelerate their growth. UKTV Ventures’ deal with Legacy of Lives follows their recent investments in online raffle company Raffolux, plastic free shampoo bar company KinKind, and social media platform, WeAre8.

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About Legacy of Lives

Founded by serial entrepreneur Rebecca Peach in 2019 after witnessing first-hand the pain and fragmentation of organising a funeral, Legacy of Lives is the UK’s only supportive funeral planner and price comparison site.

Legacy of Lives is a free, online service dedicated to making funeral planning simpler, more affordable, and more personal. We provide support to individuals and families during what may be the most stressful times of their lives, helping them make informed decisions.

Arranging a funeral can be stressful, frustrating, expensive, and hugely time-consuming, especially during a time of grief. To address these challenges, we offer digital pre-planning and at-need access, providing planners with a price comparison overview and direct contact to over 5,000 funeral providers. This allows them to make sense of the plethora of options without the need for manual interaction or visiting a funeral director, making the process easier and more accessible.

Legacy of Lives is proud to be partnered with and recommended by Money Saving Expert, Daily Mail, Marie Curie, Elizabeth’s Smile, and Hospice UK.

Legacy of Lives Twitter:                     https://twitter.com/legacyoflives

Legacy of Lives Website:                            https://legacyoflives.com

Legacy of Lives Instagram:               https://www.instagram.com/legacyoflives

Legacy of Lives Linkedin:                   https://www.linkedin.com/company/legacy-of-lives

About UKTV Ventures

UKTV Ventures is UKTV’s multi-million-pound investment fund which offers high-growth start-ups an opportunity to enter the TV advertising market in exchange for a minority stake in their company. This is described as airtime-for-equity.

UKTV Ventures Website:       www.uktvventures.co.uk

About UKTV

UKTV has been at the forefront of branded television for over 30 years, entertaining the nation with programmes they love. Its leading brands – Dave, Gold, W, Drama, Alibi, Eden and Yesterday – span comedy, entertainment, natural history, factual and drama, and are delivered to audiences through UKTV Play, Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media, BT, TalkTalk, YouView, Freesat and Amazon Fire. The broadcaster is a significant investor in British creativity and is committed to working with new and established writers, directors and programme-makers.

UKTV is part of BBC Studios, the UK’s most-awarded production company, a world-class distributor with international branded services, and a commercial subsidiary of the world’s leading public service broadcaster, the BBC.

UKTV Twitter:                                      https://twitter.com/UKTV

UKTV Corporate Website:        https://corporate.uktv.co.uk/