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Sydney-based death care provider Propel Funeral Partners (ASX: PFP) has acquired three New Zealand funeral services businesses for up to $9.1 million, extending its network into three regional markets across the country's North and South Islands.
The three targets - Evans Funeral Services (including Gisborne Tairawhiti Cremation Services), Balclutha-based Leishman Funeral Services and Rotorua's Collingwood Funeral Home - collectively generate around $4 million in annual revenue and conduct more than 700 funerals a year across four locations, one of which includes a cremation facility.
Propel, Australia and New Zealand's second-largest funeral services provider, will fund the deals with $8.3 million in cash at completion drawn from existing debt facilities, with up to $800,000 in additional earn-out payments spread over four years.
The acquisitions follow two earlier New Zealand deals completed during the first half of FY26, comprising the purchase of Jones & Co and Broadway funeral homes in Tauranga and Matamata, and Auckland-based Jacobsen memorial manufacturing.
Since listing on the ASX in 2017, Propel has now deployed about $306 million on acquisitions, with the latest three-deal tranche adding to that cumulative figure.
Alongside the acquisition announcement, the company has today reaffirmed FY26 guidance of $225 million to $230 million in revenue and $54.5 million to $56.5 million in operating EBITDA.
Those targets compare with FY25 actuals of $225.8 million and $56.2 million respectively, with Propel flagging that adverse movements in the Australian dollar against the New Zealand dollar are expected to create headwinds of about $4 million to revenue and $1 million to EBITDA at the group level.
Propel earlier this year revealed an intention to pursue more acquisitions in the "highly fragmented" funeral sector across Australia and New Zealand.
At the end of December, the company had $182 million in available funding capacity including a new $50 million accordion facility, with its debt facilities extended to October 2029, positioning it to continue its acquisition-led growth strategy.
Australian Bureau of Statistics provisional mortality data shows 188,156 deaths were recorded in Australia in 2025, up 0.6 per cent on 2024.
Early 2026 figures covering January and February show 27,941 deaths, running 0.4 per cent below the corresponding period in 2025.
Propel's board is chaired by Naomi Edwards, with the company led by co-CEOs Lilli Rayner and Fraser Henderson.
The company currently operates from 209 locations, including 41 cremation facilities and nine cemeteries.
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