Heart of England Co-operative Society’s new ceremonial vehicles offer the ultimate in luxury, style and comfort

The lease of eight prestigious new vehicles for the Heart of England Co-operative Society’s funeral fleet in Coventry has brought the total sum of investment in the Funeral Division over the past 12 months to well over £3 million.

The Society, which operates a network of 13 funeral homes under the banner of The Co-operative Funeralcare across its trading area of Coventry, Warwickshire, south Leicestershire and Northamptonshire, has taken delivery of four new Mercedes Benz limousines and four new Mercedes Benz hearses to serve client families in the city.

Equipped with a range of safety features, the vehicles are also more cost effective and environmentally friendly, while offering the ultimate in luxury, style and comfort.

The latest investment comes two years after the Society first introduced Mercedes Benz vehicles to its 16-strong fleet. In 2013 it invested almost £650,000 in four new limousines and two new hearses for its funeral homes in Nuneaton and Rugby.

Darryl Smith, General Manager of the Society’s Funeral Division, said: “It is now two years since we started using these top-of-the-range vehicles and in that time we have received some excellent feedback from our client families.

“Equipped with Mercedes Blue Efficiency technology, their fuel consumption and emissions are reduced. They are also equipped with the auto stop-start function which further reduces fuel consumption.

“The vehicles have proven to be a fantastic investment and gradually they will make up our entire fleet.”

Last year the Society marked the relocation of its Nuneaton funeral home into the historic Park House building, in a flagship development costing £1.5 million, before opening two new funeral homes in Warwick Road, Kenilworth and Kenpas Highway, Coventry, costing £330,000 and £295,000 respectively.

Earlier this year the Society relocated its Royal Leamington Spa funeral home from its Warwick Street facility, which had served the community for well over 30 years, into a flagship new £1.5 million funeral home on the Parade in the heart of the town. And its A J Murray funeral home in Hinckley, acquired by the Society over two years ago, has also undergone a £113,000 refurbishment.

All 13 homes across the network have been equipped with wi-fi and tablets, enabling client families to peruse the Funeral Division’s full range of services and facilities at their leisure.

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