Pure Cremations

I don't know what your friend has chosen but we have just paid for my mother-in-law's funeral and it wasn't even half that.

It included the use of crematorium for the service, live and downloadable streaming, orders of service, a celebrant, the funeral director who was responsible for moving my mother-in-law about 30 miles from the hospital and then looking after her body (until the day), a British willow coffin (as M0nica described earlier). It also included the fees for the funeral director to take my mother-in-law's body to the service, overseeing that, taking her to the burial and overseeing that, the fees for the grave being opened and closed etc etc...
And flowers...

I think the £9,000 must include a lot of extras - and a carriage at least!

She chose her own coffin some years ago and very much disliked limousines at funerals (and refused to get in one at her sister's funeral) so I suppose that can add up quickly if you have several... but I can't see how an "ordinary" funeral before reception costs can easily make that sort of figure.
We didn't choose the cheapest funeral director because my mother-in-law said she wanted a female one if at all possible!

5 years ago, l used Pure Cremation when a relative died. They were excellent. Ashes were sensitively returned to my house. If a usual type of funeral is not wanted, this worked well for my family.
Recently another family member had a direct cremation arranged at her local company. They would not deliver the ashes, but had to be collected by someone, and actually that was very inconvenient.

I can see there is definitely a place for it - Hilltop - it obviously worked well for you.