The UK Care Market Report 2026: Investment, Development & Outlook

The UK care home market enters H2 2026 in a period of recalibration, not retreat.

After a record £12bn+ was deployed into UK healthcare real estate in 2025, activity has settled into a steadier phase, shifting from large cross-border platform deals towards domestic institutions, specialist care and development funding.

On the ground, the fundamentals remain strong. Occupancy has climbed to 87%, above its pre-pandemic peak, and private fees continue to outpace inflation, supporting operator margins even after a higher cost base.

But supply hasn't kept up. Just 30,000 new beds were delivered between 2020 and 2025, almost entirely offset by 29,000 decommissioned over the same period.

Against a decade-long requirement of 139,000 additional beds, the current development pipeline stands at only 20,200, leaving a gap that looks set to widen rather than close.

Our latest report breaks all of this down: demand fundamentals, investment activity, the development landscape and a live case study of a forward-funded scheme in Kent.

Read the full report below.

The UK Care Market Report 2026.pdf

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