Private equity firms have acquired numerous UK healthcare companies over the past two years as they seek to capitalize on long National Health Service waiting lists, the Financial Times reported.

Buyout groups have struck 150 deals for UK healthcare companies — including ambulance fleets and diagnostics businesses — since 2021, the FT reported, citing consultancy LaingBuisson. The past two years have been the busiest in terms of volume since at least 2014, the report said.

The recent increase in deals is part of a long-term trend of the NHS buying services from private providers, which began under the last Labour government 20 years ago. The private sector has argued it is an important source of extra capacity for the NHS. On the other side, private equity firms have faced criticism for pursuing profits over good-quality healthcare provision, the FT said.

This year, 25 deals have already been agreed despite a slowdown in mergers and acquisitions more generally, the report said. Buyout firms have moved into diagnostics and digital care, where long NHS waiting lists mean patients are often willing to pay fees themselves, the FT reported.