A FUNERAL company has marked its 40th anniversary by investing more than £1.2m in the business.

Nicholas O’Hara Funeral Directors has expanded its Wimborne site to give it one of the most up-to-date mortuaries in the country, new chapels of rest, a new lounge area for families and new garaging and work-shops.

Nicholas O’Hara, chairman of the family-owned firm, said: “2014 has been a very special year for the company and this major expansion demonstrates our confidence in the future.

“We’ve grown from handling 11 funerals in our first year of trading to more than 500 annually.

It shows there is still a place for family-owned companies provid-ing a highly personal and caring service.”

The expansion at the funeral director’s Rowlands Hill prem-ises involved buying an adjacent property, flattening it and then constructing a new building with new garages, workshops, storage and a staff flat.

The previous building was adapted to provide three chapels of rest, a lounge area for families and a new staff room.

Mr O’Hara, who has handed day-to-day running of the busi-ness over to his son Anthony, said he was particularly proud of the new mortuary and theatre facilities.

“They provide the highest standards for our clients and also our staff who will work in some of the most modern facilities available anywhere in the funeral business,” he added.

The business employs 22 staff, including seven members of the O’Hara family, and also has offices in Verwood and West Moors.

The company, known for its fleet of silver vehicles, has won a succession of awards, the latest of which was golden Charter Regional Funeral Planner of the Year.

Nick Love, director of its accountancy partner Princecroft Willis, said: “It’s a superb example of a family-owned company providing the very highest standards of service but at the same time investing for the future.”