Stairlift tycoon raises stake in Dignity
Jakes made his fortune building Acorn, a West Midlands based stairlift company, over the past 30 years. He controls over 75% of that company
![](https://www.funeralservicetimes.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/istockphoto-1215528317-170667a-e1671029837715.jpeg)
Stairlift Tycoon John Jakes has raised his stake in funeral firm Dignity to 16.27% up from 13.1%.
At the time of writing this lifted the company’s share price by more than a fifth, closing at 370p per share on 13 December 2022. This left the value of the company around £185m.
Earlier this year in October Jakes increased his stake from 10% up to the previously mentioned 13%. This made him the second largest shareholder behind Phoenix Asset Management which owns 30% of the company.
In September, Dignity posted a pre-tax loss of £156m for the six months up to 1 July 2022. This is compared to a profit of £50.5m for the same period ended 25 June 2021.
Jakes made his fortune building Acorn, a West Midlands based stairlift company, over the past 30 years and controls over 75% of the company.