JSE-listed property and property related investment holding company Calgro M3 has expanded its Memorial Parks business to two more provinces – the Western Cape and the Free State.

This increases the number of memorial parks owned and managed by the group to five, with further plans to acquire parks in KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and more in Gauteng, specifically in Tshwane.

“With three Memorial Parks in Gauteng, our acquisition in March this year of the Durbanville Memorial Park, in the Western Cape, and, more recently, in June, that of the Bloemfontein Memorial Park – formerly known as The Avalon, fulfils our objective of making dignified burial sites available to people across the country,” CEO Wikus Lategan said in a statement on Wednesday.

He added that the application to obtain underground burial rights at the Bloemfontein Memorial Park was in progress and would broaden the market proposition in the Free State.

“We want to ensure that these recent acquisitions and existing operations within the various regions are well-established before moving onto further acquisitions,” he noted.

Meanwhile, to strengthen its existing operations, Calgro M3 has also acquired the shareholding owned by Nexus Capital Holdings, its partner in the Nasrec Memorial Park, south of Johannesburg, for R63.6-million.

The transaction is structured in such a way as to provide Calgro M3 with economic benefits from day one, but the acquisition price will be paid  in yearly instalments over the next four years.

Lategan added that Calgro M3 was keen to develop insurance-related products for its Memorial Parks business by partnering with insurance specialists.

“Besides the actual funerals, there is a flourishing funeral insurance industry in the country. In fact, funeral insurance is the most popular insurance cover in South Africa and, according to research, this part of the insurance industry is worth over R7-billion,” he said.