Welltower / multiple care homes merger inquiries
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is seeking views on 4 completed acquisitions by Welltower Inc. of care homes managed by Barchester, HC-One, Aria Care, and Danforth Care.
Statutory timetable
| Date | Action |
|---|---|
| TBC | Deadline for phase 1 decision |
| TBC | Launch of merger inquiry |
| 19 January 2026 to 2 February 2026 | Invitation to comment (*) |
(*) The CMA is inviting comments from any interested party. This case page will be updated when the CMA formally commences its phase 1 investigation.
Phase 1
Transactions being investigated
The CMA has decided to investigate the completed acquisitions by Welltower Inc. of multiple care homes managed by Barchester, HC-One, Aria Care and Danforth Care, including the following entities:
In relation to the HC-One acquisition
- HC One Topco Ltd (Cayman Islands), and its subsidiaries
- HC One Ltd (UK), and its subsidiaries
- HC One No.1 Ltd (UK)
- HC One No.2 Ltd (UK)
- HC One No.5 Ltd (UK)
- Ideal Carehomes Ltd (UK), and its subsidiaries
- Ideal Carehomes (2) Ltd (UK)
- Ideal Carehomes (5) Ltd (UK)
- Ideal Carehomes (4) Ltd (UK)
In relation to the Barchester acquisition
- Scarborough Hall Ltd (UK)
- Barchester Holdco Jersey Ltd (Jersey), and its subsidiaries
- Worplesdon View 2016 Ltd (UK), and its subsidiaries
- Barchester Propco Two Ltd (UK), and its subsidiaries
- Barchester Holdco Ltd (UK)
- GCH (One) Ltd (Jersey)
- Wadhurst Manor 2015 Ltd (UK)
- GCH (Two) Ltd (Jersey)
- Juniper House 2015 Ltd (UK)
- GCH (Four) Ltd (Jersey)
- Oak Grange 2015 Ltd (UK)
- GCH (Three) Ltd (Jersey)
- Marnel Park 2016 Ltd (UK)
- GCH (Five) Ltd (Jersey)
- GCH (Six) Ltd (Jersey)
- Barchester Propco (Maidstone Two) Ltd (UK)
- Deeping Care Home Ltd (UK)
- GCD (Balsall) Ltd (Jersey)
- Barchester Propco (Ltd) (UK)
- GCD (Hopton) Ltd (Jersey)
- Barchester Propco 2019 Ltd (UK)
- GCD (Newark) Ltd (Jersey)
- GJP Southport Ltd (UK)
- GCD (Lymm) Ltd (Jersey)
- Burton Waters Care Home Ltd (UK)
- Barchester Propco Jersey Ltd (Jersey)
- Tewkesbury Care Home Ltd (UK)
- GCD (Saltford) Ltd (Jersey)
- Barchester Propco Hellens Ltd (UK)
In relation to the Danforth Care acquisition
- Willhow Carehomes Topco Limited (UK) and its subsidiaries
In relation to the Aria Care acquisition
- Farehom OpCo Limited (UK)
- Orpington Opco Limited (UK)
- Asprey Healthcare Limited (CQC Registrant) (UK)
- AriaNL CHD HoldCo Ltd (Jersey), and its subsidiaries
- Asprey HoldCo One (UK) Limited (UK), and its subsidiaries
- Aria Holdco Three (UK) Ltd (UK), and its subsidiaries
- Aria Operations MB Ltd (UK), and its subsidiaries
In total, the 4 acquisitions include over 600 operational care homes and a further number of care homes for which planning permission has already been granted.
Invitation to comment: closes 2 February 2026
The CMA is issuing this ‘invitation to comment’ to allow interested parties to submit to the CMA any initial views on the impact that any or all of the transactions listed above could have on competition in the UK. The CMA has not yet launched its formal investigation into these transactions. This invitation to comment is the first part of the CMA’s information-gathering process.
To assist it with this assessment, the CMA invites comments on any or all of the transactions from any interested party.
Written representations about any competition issues should be provided by the deadline set out above.
Pre-notification
The CMA has received the necessary information from the parties to commence pre-notification.
Contact
Please send written representations about any competition issues to: welltower.various@cma.gov.uk
Principal Case Officer: Victoria Xia, victoria.xia@cma.gov.uk
Case Officer: Connor McGowan, connor.mcgowan@cma.gov.uk
Privacy notice
Your name and contact details are your personal data. In collecting, receiving, storing, accessing and using your personal data, the CMA, as controller, is processing your personal data. The CMA processes personal data in accordance with data protection law. The CMA is processing your personal data so that it can contact you again, should it need further help or information from you, in order to carry out its merger work under Part 3 of the Enterprise Act 2002. For more information about how the CMA processes personal data and your rights relating to that data, please see our Privacy Notice.