Investor confidence in the UK healthcare real estate sector remains resilient amid a widening investor pool after a record-breaking year for transactions volumes in 2025, but allocation is becoming more selective, reports CBRE in its UK healthcare sentiment survey 2026.
According to the report, sentiment across the healthcare real estate market continues to strengthen, with 68% of investors surveyed reporting they had increased their allocation to healthcare in 2025. Positive momentum is expected to continue throughout 2026 as a widening pool of real estate investors plan to expand their healthcare allocations.
The report finds that elderly care continues to dominate investor appetite, however demand for private health assets is growing.
The report expects further consolidation in the elderly care sector throughout the year, set against a backdrop of abundant capital competing for a tightening supply of purpose‑built stock. CBRE says growing demand across the private health sector is also sharpening investor focus on private acute hospitals, with one-third of investors reporting that they are targeting this sub-sector.
CBRE says the survey also points to a greater use of sophisticated capital structures which are reshaping investment into the healthcare sector.
Strategic partnerships, joint ventures and the growing role of infrastructure capital are providing clearer pathways for investors to scale. CBRE says deeper operational understanding is "essential to align capital with operating needs and strengthen asset performance".
There is also an increasing adoption of hybrid tenure portfolios. The survey finds that elderly care providers are increasingly adopting "blended tenure portfolios that incorporate leases, management contracts, and selective freehold positions". Management contracts are now widely embedded, with 92% of respondents either using or expressing interest in using them.
The survey also finds what CBRE terms a continued misalignment between developer priorities, investor appetite and provider demand.
Developers see strong opportunity in mental health and primary care, with 74% expecting increased project activity in 2026. However, the fastest‑growing areas of need such as the North West and parts of the Midlands are not always attracting the development activity required to absorb demand.
The survey was conducted by Censuswide on behalf of CBRE Research between December 2025 and January 2026.
Seventy-two respondents were representing over £19 billion of healthcare real estate gross asset value while 176 of respondents operating across social care and private health markets.
Fifty respondents were developers across a broad range of UK healthcare sub-sectors.
The survey covers sentiment and expectations relating to investment allocation, development activity, provider growth strategies, capital structures and market challenges.