A record £12bn of capital was deployed into UK healthcare real estate last year, driven by increased interest from US REITs, according to data from Savills.
Welltower’s acquisitions of Barchester Healthcare and HC-One accounted for around £6.4bn of the overall investment figure and was the largest ever deal in the sector, valued at £5.2bn and covering 284 assets.
Other key deals highlighted by Savills include the sale of Practice Plus Group’s secondary care business to Narayana Health for £189m.
Savills also cited significant activity in the hospitals market, with Blue Owl Capital reportedly in talks to acquire a 12-asset private hospital portfolio from Malaysia’s Employees Provident Fund in a potential £1.3bn deal.
Construction costs across the sector have stabilised and debt markets have strengthened, Savills reported. Average quoted weekly fees for personal care rose 8.5% year on year to £1,302 in Q3 2025, while average nursing care fees were up 8.3% at £1,696.
Caryn Donahue, head of healthcare and senior housing at Savills, said: “The UK remains the primary focus for US capital and we also expect UK domiciled healthcare REITs to become more active as macroeconomic conditions improve.
“The scale and speed of US REIT deployment in 2025 has cemented the UK’s position as the leading destination for cross-border capital in the Care Home sector and we anticipate strong competition for high-quality assets and portfolios again in 2026.”
Tom Atherton, strategy and market intelligence manager at Savills, added: “We are seeing growing interest and opportunity across the healthcare spectrum. Care homes, hospitals, and primary care assets all present compelling investment prospects for 2026, driven by strong demand for services and continued constraints on new supply.”
Last week, data from Cushman & Wakefield revealed that UK care home deal volumes totalled £10.2bn in 2025, up 226% from £3.1bn in 2024.
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