OTPP and USS Sell the Westerleigh Group to ICG
Westerleigh Group, the UK’s biggest private crematorium and cemetery operator, is being acquired by global alternative asset manager ICG for an undisclosed sum.
ICG’s European Infrastructure team will buy the business, based at Westerleigh, near Bristol, from Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and Universities Superannuation Scheme, which have jointly owned it since 2016.
The company operates 42 crematoria across England, Scotland and Wales and describes itself as the UK’s largest developer of new crematoria, having opened 21 sites since 2016.
Debbie Smith, chief executive of Westerleigh Group, said the firm’s priority had always been to provide exceptional care to the families and communities it served.
“ICG Infra shares our commitment to investing in our people, facilities and services, and brings a long-term perspective that aligns closely with our ambitions,” she added.
“We are grateful to Ontario Teachers’ and USS for their partnership and support since 2016, which has helped strengthen and grow the business.
“We look forward to working with ICG Infra as we continue investing in our network and developing new locations, in response to the resilient demand for our services across the UK.”
Under the outgoing owners, Westerleigh has invested in its SuperVenue concept, which the company says enables families to create more personalised funeral services, and developed a cremation funeral plan offering.
ICG Infra will partner with Westerleigh’s existing management team to support continued investment across the network and development of new locations.
Ludovic Laforge, managing director at ICG European Infrastructure, said: “Westerleigh provides an essential service to communities across the UK and has established a leading and highly reputable network of social infrastructure assets. We are very happy to partner with the Company and its management team.”
The transaction follows the €3.15bn close of ICG Infra’s second fund in 2025.
Completion remains subject to regulatory approvals and is expected in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Today, ICG Infra agreed to acquire Westerleigh Group from Ontario Teachers' and USS
ICG, the global alternative asset manager, today announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire the Westerleigh Group (“Westerleigh” or “the Company”), a leading independent developer and operator of crematoria and cemeteries in the UK.
ICG’s European Infrastructure team (“ICG Infra”) will acquire Westerleigh from Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (“Ontario Teachers’”) and Universities Superannuation Scheme (“USS”), which have jointly owned the business since 2016, supporting a period of significant growth for the Company. ICG Infra will partner closely with Westerleigh’s existing management team, led by Chief Executive Officer Debbie Smith, to support continued investment across the Company’s existing network, development of new locations, and enhancement of its service offering.
Founded over 30 years ago, Westerleigh is the UK's largest private operator of crematoria and cemeteries, providing services to communities across England, Scotland and Wales. The Company operates 42 crematoria and has built a strong reputation for high-quality care. Under Ontario Teachers’ and USS’s ownership, Westerleigh has expanded its network significantly in recent years and is the UK's largest developer of new crematoria, opening 21 since 2016, with additional sites under development. The Company has also continued to invest in its existing estate and service offering, including through the rollout of its SuperVenue concept, which enables families to create more personalised funeral services, and through the development of its cremation funeral plan offering.
For ICG Infra, the partnership aligns closely with its emphasis on key infrastructure, focusing on essential businesses with non-GDP-correlated characteristics and resilient demographic fundamentals. The transaction follows the €3.15bn close of ICG Infra’s second fund in 2025 and recent investments in Paulo Duarte Group and Comcreta.
Ludovic Laforge, Managing Director, ICG European Infrastructure, said:
“Westerleigh provides an essential service to communities across the UK and has established a leading and highly reputable network of social infrastructure assets. We are very happy to partner with the Company and its management team. Westerleigh is a strong fit with our strategy, and we look forward to supporting its next phase of growth.”Debbie Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Westerleigh Group, added:
“At Westerleigh, our priority has always been to provide exceptional care to the families and communities we serve. ICG Infra shares our commitment to investing in our people, facilities and services, and brings a long-term perspective that aligns closely with our ambitions. We are grateful to Ontario Teachers’ and USS for their partnership and support since 2016, which has helped strengthen and grow the business. We look forward to working with ICG Infra as we continue investing in our network and developing new locations, in response to the resilient demand for our services across the UK.”James Adam, Senior Managing Director, Infrastructure and Natural Resources at Ontario Teachers’, added:
“Over the last decade, we have been proud to support and partner with Westerleigh’s management team as it has strengthened its position as a leader in the sector, expanded its network, and continued to invest in providing the highest quality of care and services to families. We wish ICG Infra and the Westerleigh team continued success in their next stage of growth.”Rob Horsnall, Head of Direct Equity, Private Markets Group, Universities Superannuation Scheme, added:
“We are proud of what has been achieved throughout our investment in Westerleigh and have enjoyed a close working relationship with the management team and our partners at Ontario Teachers’. During our involvement, Westerleigh has doubled its number of sites while maintaining a focus on delivering high-quality crematoria facilities and, most importantly, continues to deliver an exceptional service rooted in compassion. We would like to thank the management team for their dedication and have every confidence that the business will continue to thrive in its new partnership with ICG Infra.”Completion of the transaction remains subject to customary regulatory conditions and approvals and is expected to complete in Q4 2026.
About ICG
ICG (LSE: ICG) is a global alternative asset manager with $126bn* in AUM and more than three decades of experience generating attractive returns. We operate from over 20 locations globally and invest our clients’ capital across Structured Capital; Private Equity Secondaries; Private Debt; Credit; and Real Assets. Our exceptional people originate differentiated opportunities, invest responsibly, and deliver long-term value. We partner with management teams, founders, and business owners in a creative and solutions-focused approach, supporting them with our expertise and flexible capital. For more information visit our website and follow us on LinkedIn.*As at 30 June 2026.
About Ontario Teachers’
Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board (Ontario Teachers') is a global investor with net assets of $279.4 billion as of December 31, 2025. Ontario Teachers’ is a fully funded defined benefit pension plan, and it invests in a broad array of asset classes to deliver retirement security for 346,000 working members and pensioners. For more information, visit otpp.com and follow us on LinkedIn.About Universities Superannuation Scheme
Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) was established in 1974 as the principal pension scheme for universities and Higher Education institutions in the UK. We work with around 320 employers to help build a secure financial future for almost 599,000 members and their families. We are one of the largest pension schemes in the UK, with total assets of around £84bn (at 31 March 2026). For more information, please visit our website.
Before I give you my thoughts, it's also worth looking at the November 2016 press release when OTPP and USS acquired Westerleigh Group from Antin Infrastructure Partners:
LONDON – Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan ("Ontario Teachers'") and Universities Superannuation Scheme ("USS") today announced the acquisition of Westerleigh Group ("Westerleigh"), the UK crematoria developer and operator, from Antin Infrastructure Partners ("Antin"). The transaction is expected to close by year end.
Founded in 1991, Westerleigh Group has grown to become the leading developer and operator of crematoria and cemeteries in the UK, caring for over 30,000 funerals per year across its 22 sites. It has a significant and successful track record of developing new crematoria, with 13 built since 1991. Crematoria form an essential piece of social infrastructure in the UK, with over 75% of deaths cremated each year.
Richard Evans, Managing Director of Westerleigh, said: "We are grateful for Antin's backing over the past three years and are delighted to have new long-term, pension fund investors to support the Group through our next phase of growth."
Andrew Claerhout, Ontario Teachers' Senior Vice-President Infrastructure and Natural Resources, commented: "We are very pleased to partner with USS, an institution with which we have tremendous alignment, and with Richard Evans and his outstanding management team to continue to drive Westerleigh's growth. This is a unique business that has established a strong position in the UK market. Their stable revenues and resilient operating model align well with our long-term investment requirements."
Gavin Merchant, Head of Real Assets at USS Investment Management, said: "We are delighted to be investing in Westerleigh which plays such a critical societal role in the UK. We look forward to working with Richard, his team and our partners Ontario Teachers', to continue to grow Westerleigh as an essential social infrastructure provider and to maintain its reputation for a high quality of care."
About Ontario Teachers'
Ontario Teachers' is the largest single-profession pension plan in Canada. An independent organization since 1990, Ontario Teachers' invests and administers the pensions of more than 316,000 active and retired teachers in the Province of Ontario. As of December 31, 2015, Ontario Teachers' had net assets of C$171.4 billion (£104 billion), invested across a mix of equities (public and private), bonds, commodities, real assets (real estate and infrastructure) and absolute return strategies. Ontario Teachers' infrastructure portfolio was valued at approximately C$15.7 billion (£9.5 billion) as of December 31, 2015 and includes airports, high-speed rail, water and wastewater utilities, electricity and gas distribution, thermal and renewable power generation, toll roads and container terminals.
For more information on OTPP please go to www.otpp.com
About Universities Superannuation Scheme
Universities Superannuation Scheme was established in 1975 as the principal defined benefit pension scheme for universities and other higher education institutions in the UK. It has around 375,000 scheme members across more than 360 institutions and is one of the largest pension schemes in the UK, with total fund assets of approximately £53 billion (as at 30 June 2016).
The scheme's trustee is Universities Superannuation Scheme Limited, a corporate trustee which provides scheme management and trusteeship from its offices based in Liverpool and London. The trustee company delegates implementation of its investment strategy to a wholly-owned investment management subsidiary company - USS Investment Management Limited - which provides in-house investment management and advisory services.
For more information on Universities Superannuation Scheme please go to www.uss.co.uk
While financial details of the deal were not disclosed, we see another example of how OTPP and USS worked together to help the Westerleigh Group grow its operations over the last ten years.
The company is the UK’s largest independent owners and operators of crematoria and cemeteries, with over 40 sites in England, Scotland, and Wales, and is trusted by more families than any other provider to deliver funerals for their loved ones:
All of Westerleigh's locations are set within beautifully landscaped gardens of remembrance which provide peaceful places for people to visit and reflect, while benefitting from exceptional care and support from its teams.
Our core objective is to deliver the highest possible standards of care. Westerleigh Group truly appreciates the social, environmental and financial benefits of providing professionally managed facilities in this highly specialist field.
We have unrivalled experience in the planning, development, operation and management of successful crematoria and cemeteries. We hope this website helps to shine a light on our extensive range of services and expertise and we would welcome the opportunity to hear how we may be able to help you deliver an improved experience to the bereaved.
Westerleigh Group prides itself on providing exceptional care to the bereaved, the standards of which are regularly inspected by the Federation of Burial and Cremation Authorities (FBCA) and the Scottish Government.
It is also an associate member of the National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors (SAIF), a supplier member of the National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) and a member of the Funeral Suppliers’ Association (FSA).
Instead of labelling it as a private equity asset, OTPP and USS labelled it as "social infrastructure," but the end result is the same: they exited the asset at an attractive sale price.
As discussed above, they sold the asset to ICG, which is a global alternative asset manager with $126bn in AUM and more than three decades of experience generating attractive returns.
The transaction follows the €3.15bn close of ICG Infra’s second fund in 2025.
Now it is up to ICG to help the company grow during its next phase of growth.
James Adam, Senior Managing Director, Infrastructure and Natural Resources at Ontario Teachers’ summed it up well:
“Over the last decade, we have been proud to support and partner with Westerleigh’s management team as it has strengthened its position as a leader in the sector, expanded its network, and continued to invest in providing the highest quality of care and services to families. We wish ICG Infra and the Westerleigh team continued success in their next stage of growth.”
I also note what Debbie Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Westerleigh Group (featured at the top of this post) states:
“At Westerleigh, our priority has always been to provide exceptional care to the families and communities we serve. ICG Infra shares our commitment to investing in our people, facilities and services, and brings a long-term perspective that aligns closely with our ambitions. We are grateful to Ontario Teachers’ and USS for their partnership and support since 2016, which has helped strengthen and grow the business. We look forward to working with ICG Infra as we continue investing in our network and developing new locations, in response to the resilient demand for our services across the UK.”
So why did OTPP and USS sell this asset?
I can only speak for the former. Keep in mind, OTPP has a Portfolio Solutions group headed up by Kevin Kerr whose sole purpose is to look at all their private market holdings and see how they can add value to make them ready for an exit.
No doubt in my mind, when ICG Infra came knocking, they were ready to sell this asset at a price and they did so, exiting their investment.
It's part of managing a portfolio of private market assets; you don't collect them. When the time is right, you sell them. Read my discussion covering their mid-year results here and see what CIO Gillian Brown shared with me on why they sell assets when the price is right.
Why doesn't OTPP disclose financial details? It's their prerogative, at the end of the day what matters are portfolio returns (but yes, I wish every pension fund disclosed details of these transactions).
Alright, let me wrap it up there.
Below, a clip from Westerleigh Group, they believe every life is unique, and every funeral should reflect the individual being remembered. "We support families in creating deeply personal farewells, combining compassion and respect for tradition with a commitment to innovation."
Also, in this Daci episode, Debbie Smith, the CEO of Westerleigh Group, sits down to discuss her trajectory, from her beginnings in pharmacy to her leadership roles at Boots and the Post Office. She shares her intriguing career journey that led her to Westerleigh (August 2023).
Comments
Post a Comment