News
Private equity will support healthcare growth
30 Jan 2026
As seen in HealthInvestor
Aziz Ul-Haq, partner at private equity investor LDC, explores the opportunities and priorities shaping UK healthcare investment in the year ahead.
As we begin 2026, the UK healthcare sector stands at an inflection point. Across both the public and independent sector, the focus is increasingly on moving care closer to patients, enabling earlier intervention and building capacity where demand is strongest.
Healthcare businesses are stepping up in response. For some, it’s about improving efficiency and productivity. For others, it’s about investing in new technology to expand their offerings as providers increasingly compete on their clinical expertise and ability to deliver the best patient outcomes.
The healthcare management teams we support are constantly adapting in order to seize new opportunities, and this year the pace of change will continue to drive investment into the sector.
Better outcomes in the community
Services that bring care closer to home and relieve pressure on acute healthcare settings are a big focus for the sector. Private equity partners are helping providers to build capacity and meet this demand head on.
Operational enhancement is often the first step. This could include workforce utilisation, improving reporting processes or the standardisation of existing care pathways. Investors’ value creation teams are playing a vital role here. supporting management teams to develop strategies that scale delivery and improve outcomes.
The ability to pivot is also becoming more important as the way healthcare in the UK is delivered evolves. More healthcare businesses are turning to bolt-on acquisitions with the support of investors to add specialist capability or strengthen infrastructure quickly.
At RDi, a healthcare fulfilment and diagnostics specialist we backed in 2021, we’ve helped the team to expand its offering and capacity through multiple acquisitions. Last year it acquired lnicio Health to enhance its fulfilment services and patient tracking in community settings through greater interoperability and Al capabilities.
We’ve also helped RDi to acquire MedDX and Shuttlepac, enabling the business to strengthen its role in national screening programmes delivered in community settings, including the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening.
The role of new technology
Innovation that enables healthcare businesses to boost efficiency and productivity is another area firmly on the agenda for 2026. Private equity is supporting management teams with the capital for investment, alongside providing strategic guidance to deploy and maximise new technologies successfully.
Panthera Biopartners, a site management organisation (SMO) for clinical trials we backed in August, is investing heavily in new technology to enhance it capabilities as SMOs play an increasingly pivotal role in the drug development value chain. For Bullen Healthcare, a homecare and medical supplies provider we welcomed into our portfolio in 2024, digital investment is creating a more personalised and intuitive patient experience.
As an investor, we’re increasingly interested in healthcare businesses that leverage Al and data analytics to streamline workflows and strengthen care pathways, particularly those diagnostics and preventative services into community settings where they can improve both access and efficiency.
Cora Health is a good example. We backed the creation of the multidisciplinary healthcare services provider in 2024 through the merger of Connect Health and Healthshare. With our support, the business is prioritising innovation to continue enhancing its at-home diagnostic services, driving better patient experience, clinical outcomes and value for money at a critical time for the health service in England.
The opportunity ahead
There’s real momentum building across UK healthcare – creating strong demand and a more supportive backdrop for M&A. With market confidence continuing to build and a more supportive policy environment taking shape. 2026 looks set to be a year of opportunity for investors in the sector.
We're proud to support healthcare businesses that are prioritising clinical expertise and patient outcomes alongside commercial growth, and we're optimistic about what the sector can achieve in the year ahead.”
In the last decade, LDC has invested £409 million into 18 healthcare businesses, with a combined enterprise value of £920 million. It has made successful investments across key subsectors including healthcare services, pharma services and medtech & devices. Last year, LDC was named ‘Private equity investor of the year’ at the Healthlnvestor Awards.