13 Mar 2026
Preparing for NHS dental contract changes and workforce expansion
This April sees the roll-out of a series of important reforms to the NHS dental contract.
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The opportunities in the sector are significant. Our health and care sector expertise and the strength of our national transactional team helps us maximise our opportunities whilst managing the risk. As your business changes and faces the opportunities and challenges of the health and care sector, our sector specialists advise on growth (through acquisitions or joint ventures), restructuring and exits.
We work with independent health and care sector clients to deliver strategic corporate transactions, bolt-on acquisitions, and disposal programmes across the range of M&A, joint ventures, partnerships and refinancings/restructurings.
We help complete transactions that are right given the unique requirements and objectives of each of our clients, balancing risk, maximising opportunities and bringing a wealth of health sector and corporate experience. We help you challenge assumptions, collaborate and hit the ground running.
Our experience
Our firm-wide strength and sector experience as one of the UK's leading health and care sector firms is epitomised in our corporate health and care team. The corporate health and care team:
- completes many business and company acquisitions and disposals for UK and international corporate and entrepreneur acquirers and sellers each year
- helps clients create innovative solutions to opportunities with complex NHS aspects including cutting edge joint ventures and partnerships with NHS organisations
- works exclusively in the health and care sector enabling us to support clients as well as related and adjacent sectors advising on numerous transactions in each year in mental and specialist healthcare, community healthcare, social care, healthtech/medtech, diagnostic/scanning services and technology, dental, veterinary and animal health, life sciences, pharma and clinical trials
- works with US and other non-UK investors including numerous UK acquisitions for the largest healthcare businesses in the US ranging from hospital groups to REITs
- collaborates with law firms requiring specialist healthcare support on corporate transactions notably in conducting healthcare due diligence exercises for private equity and other financial acquirers as well as large corporates who seek additional health and care sector experience and insight
- supported a leading S&P 500 healthcare REIT on enhancing its interests in the UK care home sector
- supported the Four Seasons Health Care Group since 2022 on numerous sales, including with the sale of 11 Scottish care homes in 2025.
Did you know?
Sector experience
With the experience of a 120 strong healthcare team, our corporate healthcare team focuses exclusively on the sector.
International
We're helping a number of US and non-UK healthcare corporates and investors with acquisitions, disposals and business launches.
Acquisition and disposal programme experts
We support the UK's largest healthcare businesses on acquisition or disposal programmes including over 50 acquisitions in one case.
Our clients
- Advising Operose Health and Centene on the acquisition of AT Medics, one of the largest primary groups in the UK
- Mubadala's acquisition of a majority stake (alongside former owners Charme Capital and Livingbridge) in The Witherslack Group
- Artisan on its $1.7bn merger with Prenetics
- ARCHIMED SAS on the sale of Vita Health Group to Spire Healthcare Plc
- Riverdale Healthcare's acquisition of Hanji Dental Care comprising 18 dental practices and a laboratory
- Strategic acquisitions for various diagnostic providers
- Numerous acquisitions/disposals for Bupa
- Various acquisitions for VetPartners
Our lawyers
With one of the most experienced and sector-focussed corporate health and care teams in the country, we help deliver successful transactions for our clients, managing risk and leveraging sector experience.
What our clients say about us
- We turned to Mills & Reeve for key healthcare project because their expertise, knowledge and understanding of our sector meant we could hit the ground running with their full support.Independent health and care sector client
- Total gratitude to you all for everything you have done to get [this transaction] over the line in a record breaking four weeks. There are very few teams who could have pulled this off and it's down to your attitude, quality and persistence that we did.General CounselPrivate equity backed healthcare client on one of several acquisitions completed recently
- the team is... praised for it's proactive approach and a great understanding of the NHS industryLegal 500
- Mills & Reeve acted as an extension of our in-house legal team. Julian and his team were outcome-driven, focused on outstanding performance, caring and fun.A client
Our expertise
Get in touch
Our team of legal experts are here to support you. Contact one of our lawyers today.
Meet our health and care: m&a and other corporate transactions team
Health and Care Hub
Our unique online resource for health and care clients working in the public and independent sectors.
In-house in Focus hub
Our hub includes a range of resources to provide answers and guidance on a variety of legal issues specifically for in-house counsel.
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The CMA is looking at private dentistry – preparing for the market study
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The CMA is looking at private dentistry – are you ready?
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