The European Healthcare sector is a large market in which growth is driven by ageing populations and beneficial (but costly) technological change.  Our Healthcare team is attracted to protected segments of the healthcare sector and to platforms that have convincing growth potential, often through the roll-out of a proven unit model or roll-up of a fragmented market within a region.

Our primary Thematic areas for investment focus include high-acuity, long-term care and specialty pharmaceuticals. We seek to partner with firms and management teams which provide outstanding levels of patient care, as ultimately, this is the key driver of growth in the sector. Whether residential or domestic, long-term high-acuity care companies are typically cash flow generative, allowing for reinvestment in growth and bolt-on acquisitions, where smaller care homes can be acquired and both the quality of care and performance can improve as a result of integration into the larger platform.

The team continually examines other segments of the market for investments in our target Themes, and other attractive sub-sectors. For example, certain niches of the specialty pharmaceuticals segment enjoy high margins and cash conversion rates, and the potential for product roll-up, enabling strong growth. This Theme has led to our 2010 investment in Mercury Pharma.

Our highly-resourced, dedicated Healthcare team means that we are well placed to identify, assess and complete investments quickly and thoroughly. We work with companies’ existing management teams towards delivering organic growth rather than financial engineering and aim to interact with management with the sector knowledge of a trade player.