U.K. care-home industry short of beds

The U.K. care-home sector has seen a minimal increase in in the number of beds, but this is failing to keep up with demand, with the number of care-home beds per 100 people over the age of 85 falling by 5 percent since 2010, according to Knight Frank.

The annual U.K. Healthcare Development Opportunities 2020 research report shows that while the number of care home beds increased by 2,500 in the last financial year, the number of homes fell to 12,170 nationwide. This is driven by smaller outdated care homes closing while larger, purpose-built care homes or existing homes are adding beds to create more efficient and viable schemes throughout the United Kingdom.

While new stock replacing old and outdated stock is a positive step forward, the extent of home closures and de-registrations taking place means that the market is in fact struggling to expand at the pace required for future demand. In the 2019/2020 financial year, a total of 7,058 beds (122 homes) were