The Competition and Markets Authority is continuing with initial steps in its investigation into the four completed acquisitions by Welltower Inc. of care homes managed by Barchester, HC-One, Aria Care and Danforth Care. The deals cover over 600 operational care homes and further care settings where planning permission has been granted.
The CMA’s investigation follows its invitation to comment launched on 19 January 2026, seeking views from interested parties by 2 February and ahead of formally opening a phase 1 merger investigation. You can read our earlier article on the announcement here.
Since then, the CMA has published initial enforcement orders (IEOs) and derogation letters on 3, 6 and 10 February 2026 under section 72(2) of the Enterprise Act 2002 on Welltower Inc in respect of the acquisitions. You can view the enforcement orders and derogation letters here. Imposing IEOs is an important procedural step when the CMA wants to investigate a completed transaction. The IEOs require Welltower and the acquired businesses to be carried on separately and prevent any steps towards integration. This is intended to preserve the CMA’s ability to take an enforcement steps in the future when it completes its substantive review.
The CMA has yet to confirm the formal start date of its merger inquiry and the corresponding statutory deadline for the phase 1 investigation decision.
The CMA’s actions are a continuing timely reminder that the regulator remains vigilant regarding consolidation and growth across the care home market. For operators and investors, this underscores the necessity of addressing potential competition issues from the outset of any transaction discussions, ensuring regulatory compliance is embedded early in the deal process.
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