European senior living real estate investment is soaring, with Spain and the UK emerging as top markets in 2025. Discover latest trends, investor insights, and opportunities for growth.
The European senior living real estate investment sector is experiencing a remarkable surge in investment, with a total of €1.76 billion pouring into the market during the first five months of 2025. Driven by a combination of demographic shifts, changing investor expectations, and remarkable market opportunities—especially in Spain and the UK—senior living real estate investment is attracting global attention like never before.
Robust Growth in Senior Living Investments
According to the latest report by international real estate consultancy Savills, in partnership with European Care Home Investment, the investment volume in European care homes and nursing facilities has not only recovered since the latter half of 2024 but has surpassed early records set in previous years.
Key factors behind this growth include a drop in interest rates, renewed alignment between buyer and seller price expectations, and improved sector performance—signaling growing investor confidence.
Spain: The Rising Star for Investors
While the United Kingdom remains the top destination for senior living investment, Spain has quickly positioned itself as the preferred market in Southern Europe. Savills’ report highlights Spain’s unique attractiveness due to its limited supply of senior living beds and comparatively low cost per bed, presenting significant opportunities for short-term growth.
Investor demand in Spain is particularly concentrated in major cities such as Madrid and Barcelona, where competition for viable projects is fierce and currently outpaces the availability of investable properties. This intense competition is prompting a shift in focus towards secondary cities and provincial capitals, where growth potential and development conditions are highly favorable.
Expert Insight:
“Thanks to an increasingly solid and qualitative market positioning, Spain offers vast scope for institutional investment in senior living real estate.”
The UK and Germany: Stable Foundations with Room for Growth
The UK, renowned for price stability and a strong private-pay market, continues to offer attractive and sizable portfolios to investors. Germany, supported by strong insurance activity and solid market fundamentals, is also regaining investor attention as confidence in the sector’s growth prospects strengthens.
Cross-Border Investment and Institutional Interest
Europe has become a renewed focal point for global capital in senior living real estate, outperforming the United States in terms of market adaptation, price adjustments, and fiscal outlook improvements.
- Cross-border investment made up 48% of all transactions in 2024, rising to an unprecedented 85% between January and May 2025.
- An increasing number of investors (24%, according to Savills) are now deploying pan-European strategies, looking beyond their domestic markets to capitalize on widespread opportunity.
Innovation and Financing: Meeting New Challenges
As the sector evolves, investors and developers are faced with new challenges: from modernizing care facilities to ensuring operational efficiency and cost-effectiveness. The need for innovative, scalable, and less expensive construction and operating models is clear.
On the financing front, both banking and non-banking channels are highly liquid, with strong competition among lenders to finance active management and operationally-intensive properties. Non-bank financiers, in particular, are expanding their investment criteria and offering increasingly borrower-friendly terms — such as higher leverage, flexible repayment schemes, and longer grace periods.
Recent Industry Headlines
- Merger of Cofinimmo and Aedifica (June 2025):
This landmark deal created the world’s fourth-largest healthcare REIT, expanding influence across the UK, Spain, Finland, Ireland, and Italy, and signaling consolidation and confidence within the sector.
A Thriving Market Primed for Growth
With demographic trends driving demand for quality senior housing—and investors’ confidence buoyed by favorable market conditions—European senior living real estate investment is entering a new phase of robust growth.
Spain’s limited supply, competitive costs, and high investor demand make it a standout opportunity for those seeking to capitalize on the future of senior care real estate in Europe.
Is your portfolio prepared for the next wave of growth in Europe’s senior living sector?
