REG - Competition and Mkts - CMA update: Welltower care homes

WelltowerAnnouncement

Thu 12:00

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RNS Number : 2944F  Competition and Markets Authority  21 May 2026

CMA proposes to accept remedies in care home deal

The CMA's initial investigation into Welltower's purchase of UK care homes
found competition concerns in 30 local areas

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is today proposing to accept
remedies offered following its investigation into Welltower's purchase of more
than 600 care homes across the UK.

Welltower is a US-based real estate investment trust. In October 2025,
Welltower became the owner of 4 portfolios of care home properties previously
owned and operated by Barchester Healthcare, HC-One, Aria Care (including
Asprey) and Danforth Care. As part of the transaction, new operators
(including Care UK and Apex Healthcare Properties via Barchester Healthcare)
took over the management of the day-to-day operations of the care homes.

A phase 1 investigation by the CMA found that the deals could give rise to
competition concerns in the supply of nursing and/or residential care services
for the elderly in a total of 30 local areas across England and Scotland. In
those local areas, the CMA found that either Welltower or one of the care home
operators would have a significant proportion of the care homes in the area.
The CMA was concerned the deals could potentially lead to higher prices or a
reduction in service quality for care home residents in these areas.

To resolve the CMA's concerns, Welltower has offered the following in the
areas of concern identified by the investigation:

·    to sell its ownership of a number of care home properties and

·    for certain other care homes, reallocate the operations to a new
operator.

Having considered this proposal, the CMA believes it could resolve its
competition concerns and will consult on the remedies package and the
potential purchaser(s) in due course.

Sorcha O'Carroll, Senior Director of Mergers at the CMA, said:

"It's crucial that older people and their families choosing care homes get the
best care available at a reasonable price. Effective competition amongst
providers can help boost choice, improve quality and keep costs down, all of
which are important factors for making sure people are properly looked after.

"We had concerns that Welltower's deal to purchase over 600 sites could create
competition issues in several local areas across England and Scotland. Having
engaged closely with the businesses, we believe Welltower has a solution that
could resolve those concerns, allowing us to clear the deal and maintain
competition at the same time."

More information can be found on the Welltower / multiple care homes case page
(https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/welltower-slash-multiple-care-homes-merger-inquiries)
.

-ENDS-

Notes to editors

1.   More detail on the remedies offered will be published on the case page
in due course.

2.   The CMA considers Welltower to have both the ability and the incentive
to influence the competitive offering of certain care homes where it has local
market power. In addition, and separately, the CMA considers that operators
similarly may have the ability and incentive to influence the competitive
offering of care homes they operate.

3.   The CMA therefore found concerns in some local areas relating to
Welltower and in other local areas relating to operators.

 

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