PRACTICE AREA

Corporate Healthcare

Overview

Our Corporate Healthcare team has a proven track record and a long-established reputation for solving the unique business challenges facing the health and social care sectors.

Not only are we market leaders when it comes to healthcare transactions, but we have deep experience acting for dental practices, care homes, housing with care organisations, pharmacies, vets, GPs and private hospitals. 

We act for individual healthcare service providers and established groups, with a strong reputation for working with corporate providers and their funders on their buy and build strategies and day to day businesses.

We are able to draw on our specialist knowledge and industry expertise to cover the full lifecycle of a business, delivering the results you expect. 

Whatever the size or complexity of the transaction, we can guide you through all stages of your corporate development, aligning your business strategies and growth ambitions with transactions that minimise risks and maximise returns. 

We put our clients at the heart of everything we do. Our advice is underpinned by a commitment to providing a healthier future for your business. 

Our services include mergers and acquisitions, disposals, shareholder arrangements, corporate governance, strategic investments, due diligence, and regulatory support.

Key Contacts

Senior Partner
Jon Lawley, Senior Partner, smiling for a formal headshot.
Senior Partner

Work highlights

  • Acuity advises PortmanDentex, one of the largest privately focused dental groups in the UK, on its acquisition strategy and has done so since 2010. In this time Acuity has advised PortmanDentex on its purchase of nearly 200 practices.
  • Acting for Envisage Dental, a UK-based, patient-centred dental group, on its acquisition strategy.
  • Advising DeNovo Dental Partners on its journey from incorporation to acquisition, including DeNovo’s purchase of six dental practices in February 2025. In this time Acuity advised DeNovo on its unique shared ownership model for dental practices which allows principals to sell their practice while remaining as minority shareholders.
  • Acting for Choice Care Group, a leading UK provider of residential care and supported living services for people with learning disabilities, autism, and mental health conditions. Over a period of 20+ years, Acuity has advised the group on the acquisition and development of a series of properties, and on multiple corporate acquisitions, supporting the group’s organic and acquisitive growth strategies. We have also advised the company through multiple refinancings, as well as supporting on strategies for contract negotiations with commissioners.
  • Advising Achieve Together, one of the UK’s leading providers of support for people with learning disabilities, autism and complex needs, in its acquisition of Arches Support Services Limited, a provider of supported living and domiciliary support services.
  • Advising Consensus Support Services, a residential care home operator and provider of supported living services, supports people with autism, learning disabilities, and other complex needs, on its acquisition of residential care and support provider Creative Care.
  • Advising Cygnet Healthcare, a leading national provider of residential care and supported living services supporting persons with autism, learning disabilities, mental health and complex needs on its acquisition of three residential care homes in England & Wales.
  • Acting for LifeCare Residences Limited, a leading provider of care and retirement communities in its sale of the entire issued share capital of Somerleigh Court Ltd to Welford Healthcare.
  • Advising BSN Social Care in its acquisition of AFA Fostering Ltd.
Jon Lawley is our key client partner and has become a very trusted adviser to our firm. Jon knows what our business needs are and is always willing to advise and support on a wide range of issues. This collegiate approach is refreshing and helps us move quickly through challenging issues.
We have been delighted with the support provided by Jon and the rest of the Acuity team over the years, with their commercial insight and ability to get deals done quickly proving invaluable to the ongoing success of Portman’s acquisition programme. We consider Acuity to be an extended part of the Portman team and find the Acuity Counsel service to be an effective tool by which Portman’s day-to-day legal needs can be met quicky and effectively.
The best decision we ever made in selecting a legal partner was to appoint [Beverley Jones] as our legal adviser. It has been – by a country mile – our largest and most complex deal we have ever participated in. [She has] been at our side every step of the way and it has given us enormous comfort to know [she has] been our adviser. The quality of advice has been consistently out of the top drawer and whilst I know [she has] fielded a bigger team of widely talented colleagues along the way I recognise [she has] done some of the heaviest lifting by far.
Amidst all the commercial changes that occurred throughout the process [Beverley] always offered a very thoughtful and reasoned approach to matters and that is very much appreciated at our end.

Awards

Finalists – Legal Services – Social Care Premier Supplier Awards 2024 and 2025

Finalists – Legal Advisors of the Year – Transactional – HealthInvestor Awards 2024

Winners of Corporate Law Firm of the Year – Dealmakers Wales 2022 

The Corporate Healthcare Team is ranked Tier 1 in the Legal 500 

The Corporate Healthcare Team is ranked Band 1 by Chambers and Partners

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