West Mids-based funeral director doubles in size in less than two years
West Midlands funeral director Jennifer Ashe & Son has this month welcomed two new members to its team as it continues to expand its services across the region– more than doubling in size in the last 24 months.
Headquartered in Willenhall, the family business was established by John Ashe and his mother Jennifer in 2016. Initially operating one funeral home, in the last two years the business has grown from a handful of staff to 22 employees working across six funeral homes.
This month, Natalia Broda joins the business as its first in-house Finance Manager, with a focus on streamlining operations by managing budgets and developing financial strategies. She joins the team with over six years of experience working in similar roles and will play a key part in supporting Managing Director John Ashe in the day-to-day running of the business.
Mathew Alcock is the second new addition to the team and joins the Willenhall branch as a Funeral Director, helping the team to provide compassionate support for bereaved families and co-ordinate funeral services. He joins Jennifer Ashe & Son with over four years’ experience, most recently working as a Funeral Director in Shropshire.
The two new appointments come at a time of considerable growth for the family run funeral director. In the first few years following their launch in 2016, with their singular branch in Brownhills, they were arranging around 70 funerals a year. Jennifer Ashe and Son celebrated its 8th anniversary this month, and now has six branches across the West Midlands and Staffordshire, in Willenhall, Brownhills, Hednesford, Lichfield, Oxley, and Walsall, and help carry out over 900 funerals a year for families across the region.
John Ashe, Managing Director at Jennifer Ashe & Son comments: “It makes me incredibly proud to see how far we have come as a business and as a team in the last eight years. We’ve worked incredibly hard to establish ourselves as a trusted and reliable funeral director in the West Midlands, helping to support and show compassion to families in the area at a time of utmost need.
“The expansion of our team and of our branch network, with the most recent opening of our Oxley branch in September, helps us to further accommodate those who need our services and has been welcomed very well locally.”
As they continue to support a growing community, the funeral director has introduced a number of new facilities to its Willenhall headquarters to ensure customer demand and requirements can be met. This includes the installation of additional mortuary fridge space, which has enabled the team to care for and store up to 40 deceased at any one time. The Willenhall branch has also seen the installation of a purpose-built bariatric chapel. It also provides a washing facility for traditional Asian and Indian funeral ceremonies, in which it is custom for the families to dress and clean the deceased.
The funeral director has also invested £220,000 in a new hearse and a petrol hybrid limousine. The two new vehicles have been added to the business’s existing fleet of 3 hearses and 5 limousines, offering a blend of elegance and comfort, reflecting the team's dedication to giving loved ones and their families the dignity they deserve.
John continues: “Being able to accommodate and cater for the diverse needs of the families that come to us is incredibly important. We want to ensure that everyone feels respected and supported, and by introducing these facilities to our Willenhall branch we are continuing to better our ability to do this.”
Jennifer Ashe & Son Funeral Directors is an award-winning, family-run funeral director, established in 2016 with branches now open in Willenhall, Brownhills, Hednesford, Lichfield, Oxley and Walsall. The team specialises in providing a supportive and caring service for families across the West Midlands and Staffordshire during difficult times of bereavement.
