It is no secret that the last year has thrown a spotlight on the healthcare sector and this, combined with an ageing UK population, is adding to the popularity of the sector’s property assets with investors.

CBRE’s latest healthcare market and sentiment survey has shown a large majority of the surveyed investors are highly optimistic about demand in the sector during the short and medium term future and over 50% of respondents expected an increase in healthcare yields.

Investors anticipate a sharp increase in demand for NHS leased facilities in particular, with elderly care and retirement living assets also seeing a high rise in demand.

This interest is not just due to the COVID year(s?) as Tom Morgan, head of healthcare at CBRE explains: “Investment interest in the healthcare sector has been growing year on year over at least the last five years”, as occupancy in the sector has remained buoyant in comparison to other asset classes such as hospitality and even student accommodation. Beyond this, 60% of developers have claimed that the pandemic has not impacted development strategy, a further indicator of this property sector’s resilience. 

Given the ageing population of the UK, this upwards trend looks likely to continue and potentially provide investors with a more certain and sustainable asset choice for the future.