Elderly care added 5,405 firms last year, up 25% on 2024 and the biggest rise in at least a decade.
The UK is witnessing a boom in Boomer care as the private elderly social care sector expands rapidly to meet the needs of the country’s ageing population.
Drawing on the latest Companies House data, specialist bank Cynergy Bank has developed a Business Births and Deaths Index. It shows that the private elderly social care sector added a net 5,405 businesses last year. This is 25% more than in 2024, and the largest annual net increase since at least 2019, as demand continues to rise and closures slow significantly.
The data reflects the demographic shift. According to Office of National Statistics population estimates, the number of people aged 70 or over in the UK has increased steadily for years and now stands at 8.5 million, up from fewer than 7 million just a decade ago.
This year, the oldest members of the Baby Boomer generation turn 80, driving greater demand for care, support and specialist services.
At the same time, sustained capacity pressures across publicly funded health and social care are reshaping behaviour. Families are increasingly turning to private providers for faster access, continuity of care and specialist support, rather than relying solely on overstretched local authority and NHS services.
The default option
“Britain’s ageing population is creating sustained demand for elderly care, and we’re seeing that reflected in strong and consistent growth across the private care sector,” said the bank’s chief executive Nick Fahy.
“What we’re seeing is not a temporary spike but a permanent rebalancing of the care system. As demand outstrips public capacity, private providers are increasingly becoming the default option rather than the exception,” he added.
No surprise then that the UK’s private health and social care sector was one of the strongest-performing industries last year, supported not only by rising demand but by the growing role of independent providers within the wider care system, including closer collaboration with the NHS to reduce waiting times.
Private health and social care has now expanded every year since 2019, delivering a net gain of 18,380 businesses over the past six years, according to the latest ONS data.
Growth has accelerated since the start of the Labour government. Since July 2024, 16,805 new private health and social care firms have launched, while closures have slowed, resulting in a net increase of 4,410 businesses across the sector.
