Shifting demand and a changing funding model
Healthcare is undergoing a gradual shift in how care is accessed and funded. Across many parts of the market, demand is moving towards private pay and employer-supported models as individuals seek faster access to services and businesses play a more active role in supporting employee wellbeing.
This is creating momentum in areas such as occupational health, corporate health services and other employer-backed healthcare models. What were once viewed as employee benefits are increasingly becoming practical solutions to workforce absence, growing demand for care and pressure on public healthcare systems.
As a result, investors continue to show strong interest in businesses that are less reliant on public funding and better positioned to benefit from long-term changes in how healthcare is delivered and funded.
“We’re seeing a clear shift in parts of the market towards private pay and employer-backed provision, as people look for faster access to care and companies play a bigger role in supporting health needs.”
Stig Windeløv, Partner and Head of Healthcare
Technology supporting delivery, efficiency and innovation
Technology continues to play an increasingly important role across healthcare, although its impact varies significantly by business model. In people-led care settings, AI, data tools and digital platforms are helping providers improve scheduling, reporting and record-keeping, making day-to-day operations more efficient while supporting frontline teams.
In other areas, particularly pharma services, technology is becoming a source of growth in its own right. Businesses are developing AI-enabled tools and digital solutions that not only improve internal capabilities but also create new commercial opportunities for clients.
Across the sector, technology is becoming more important, but the way in which value is created depends on the specific operating model of each business.
Regulation and funding pressures creating a more selective market
Alongside growing private demand, many parts of the healthcare sector remain heavily influenced by public funding frameworks. Reimbursement models, government budgets and regulatory oversight continue to shape both performance and investment appetite across Europe.
For businesses operating within publicly funded systems, increased scrutiny around pricing, reimbursement and compliance has created a more challenging investment environment. Uncertainty around funding levels, policy direction and regulatory change has, in some areas, slowed decision-making and increased the complexity of assessing opportunities.
The result is a highly segmented market. Rather than broad healthcare sentiment driving investment, buyers are increasingly focused on understanding local regulations, funding stability and the resilience of individual business models within specific subsectors.
Technology supporting delivery, efficiency and innovation
Technology continues to play an increasingly important role across healthcare, although its impact varies significantly by business model. In people-led care settings, AI, data tools and digital platforms are helping providers improve scheduling, reporting and record-keeping, making day-to-day operations more efficient while supporting frontline teams.
In other areas, particularly pharma services, technology is becoming a source of growth in its own right. Businesses are developing AI-enabled tools and digital solutions that not only improve internal capabilities but also create new commercial opportunities for clients.
Across the sector, technology is becoming more important, but the way in which value is created depends on the specific operating model of each business.
“Technology is becoming more important across healthcare, but its role varies. In some businesses, it supports delivery and efficiency, while in others, it’s becoming part of the product itself.”
Stig Windeløv, Partner and Head of Healthcare
We completed 18 healthcare transactions with a total value of €1.4bn in FY25/26
Demand remains strongest in the right subsectors
Investor interest remains highest in healthcare businesses that offer scalability, defensibility and exposure to long-term growth trends. Pharma services continue to attract attention, supported by improving spending patterns among larger pharmaceutical companies and renewed confidence across the supply chain.
Medical products and devices also remain attractive due to their international growth potential and ability to scale across markets. At the same time, employer-backed health services are benefiting from the broader shift towards corporate-funded healthcare and preventative wellbeing initiatives.
More widely, specialist care businesses continue to create opportunities, although these sectors tend to be more locally focused and are therefore assessed through a different investment lens.
Looking ahead: opportunity in the right parts of the market
The healthcare market remains active, but increasingly selective. Businesses with exposure to private pay, employer-supported health provision, international scalability and clearly defined specialist niches are likely to continue attracting the strongest investor interest.
At the same time, businesses that remain closely linked to public funding will continue to be influenced by regulatory clarity, funding frameworks and policy direction. Understanding those distinctions will remain critical for investors and business owners alike.
Healthcare remains a broad and resilient sector, but it is far from uniform. The strongest outcomes will continue to come from identifying the subsectors where demand is strongest, risks are well understood and long-term fundamentals remain supportive.
Long-term demand supporting investment
The long-term outlook for healthcare continues to be supported by powerful demographic trends, particularly ageing populations and rising demand for specialist healthcare services. These trends provide a strong foundation for many areas of the market and continue to attract investors with a long-term perspective.
This is contributing to growing interest from infrastructure-style investors and other capital providers with longer investment horizons, whose return expectations align closely with steady long-term demand growth. Traditional private equity remains focused on areas that can deliver stronger growth within shorter timeframes, helping to sustain interest in pharma services, medical products and device-led businesses.
Compared with many other industries, healthcare has also remained relatively insulated from some of the wider geopolitical and macroeconomic pressures affecting dealmaking elsewhere. While no sector is entirely protected, healthcare businesses are generally less exposed to energy, supply chain and international trade disruption than many industrial markets.
Connected expertise across healthcare and pharma
Our healthcare team continues to advise across a broad range of healthcare services, care provision, medical products, devices and pharma-related businesses. The breadth of this activity reflects the diversity of the market and the importance of deep subsector expertise.
Cross-border collaboration remains a key strength. During the past year, the team has worked on mandates spanning the UK, France and Ireland, combining specialist sector knowledge and international experience to support clients across multiple healthcare segments.
Looking ahead: opportunity in the right parts of the market
The healthcare market remains active, but increasingly selective. Businesses with exposure to private pay, employer-supported health provision, international scalability and clearly defined specialist niches are likely to continue attracting the strongest investor interest.
At the same time, businesses that remain closely linked to public funding will continue to be influenced by regulatory clarity, funding frameworks and policy direction. Understanding those distinctions will remain critical for investors and business owners alike.
Healthcare remains a broad and resilient sector, but it is far from uniform. The strongest outcomes will continue to come from identifying the subsectors where demand is strongest, risks are well understood and long-term fundamentals remain supportive.
Head of Healthcare
Stig Windeløv
Partner
When a company changes hands, it often involves critical decisions for those involved. And for a business owner selling a company, it carries significant personal and emotional consequences alongside the financial outcomes. I've been working in M&A throughout my career, and it is both motivating, inspiring, and challenging for me to work on processes that have such pivotal life-changing significance, while also enjoying being part of a truly special community of competent colleagues.
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Transactions
Not just numbers on a balance sheet, our transactions represent over 20 years’ commitment to our clients’ future. Helping them change the game. Even before it was ready to be changed.
Creating a stronger future for fertility care
Adviser to Manchester Fertility Group on its sale to Amulet Capital Partners-backed TFP Fertility Group
Clearwater advises the family-owned company Cintramédica on its sale to Affidea, a European medical services group
Adviser to Cintramédica on its sale to Affidea
Financing to support the expansion of a leading European MedTech manufacturing platform
Adviser to Gilde Healthcare for the financing of the acquisitions of BENTEC Endoscopy GmbH and Hermann Medizintechnik GmbH through its portfolio company SPI Group
Ireland's leading occupational healthcare provider secures strategic investment from mid-market private equity
Adviser to Medmark on its investment from Phoenix Equity Partners
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