THE CO-OP was lambasted yesterday for launching a new funeral service for gays called Pink Partings. Ivan Massow, the first entrepreneur in Britain to launch a specialist financial business for the gay community, said that he thought that the name was “crass” and lacked imagination.

His comments came after the Co-op became the latest company to target the homosexual community ahead of the Civil Partnership Act coming into force on December 5.

Pink Partings, which was set up by Co-operative Funeralcare, appears to offer nothing different from other funeral directors apart from issuing details on its website of the small print of the new Act.

An estimated 50,000 homosexual funerals take place in the UK each year, according to the Co-op, and the Act will give same-sex partners a much stronger position to determine the funeral arrangements of their loved ones.

Under the legislation, homosexual married couples will have the same rights as heterosexual married couples over property, asset transfers, tax and pensions.

The Government expects between 11,000 and 22,000 people to be in a civil partnership by 2010 and it has been estimated that as many as one in four weddings in the UK next year will be same-sex ceremonies. Several new businesses, including Fabulous Gay Weddings and the Modern Life Show, have been founded to cater for the expected demand.

Banks are also hoping to cash in on changes to couples’ finances as a result of the tax implications of the Act. Gino Meriano, who founded Pink Partings in partnership with the Co-op, set up its sister company Pink Weddings two years ago.

Last year Pink Weddings arranged more than 300 gay and lesbian “commitment ceremonies”. It is now taking up to 15 requests a day for civil partnerships, with bookings well into 2007.

Mr Meriano insisted that Pink Partings aimed to make same-sex couples aware of their new rights over funerals. He said: “It is something I wanted to create for the community.”

Co-operative Funeralcare said that it had no plans to take on special staff who were particularly sensitive to the needs of the gay community to handle ceremonies organised through Pink Partings.

Sharon White, a spokeswoman for Funeralcare, said the organisation was already entrusted with funerals for many homosexual people. She said: “In essence there is nothing to separate a gay person’s funeral from anyone else’s — sensitivity, support and attention to detail is at the heart of every funeral we carry out.”

But Mr Massow said that it was important for a funeral service marketing itself to the gay community to try to identify sympathetic clergy to host the ceremonies so that gay people felt free to express themselves.

GAY COUPLES' NEW RIGHTS

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