Bupa is on course to make bumper profits this year as it cashes in on ‘growing demand’ for private care because of lengthy NHS waiting lists.
The health insurer reported a pre-tax profit of £501million for the first six months of 2025, 19 per cent higher than last year.
The results, which also saw an 11 per cent jump in revenue to £8.8billion for the first half of 2025, included Bupa’s operations in Europe, Latin America, India, the Middle East and Asia.
The company said its performance had been bolstered by surging demand for private healthcare and income from its care homes.
Inaki Ereno, group chief executive, said: ‘In the first six months of the year, we have served more customers than ever before.’
The half-year report also revealed that the number of people taking out Bupa’s health insurance globally rose 23 per cent to 40.9m, while the occupancy rate of its care homes for older people rose 1 per cent to 94 per cent.
Rude health: Health insurer Bupa reported a pre-tax profit of £501m for the first six months of 2025, 19% higher than last year
Its UK and India division recorded turnover of £2.8billion, while profits soared 89 per cent to £126million. UK insurance accounted for 48 per cent of the division’s sales, while 9 per cent came from dental practices.
The company has opened 61 sites around the world, including buying New Victoria Hospital, London, its first UK hospital purchase since 2008.
The growth comes as people turn to private healthcare to avoid joining the 6.2m patients languishing on NHS waiting lists.
The figures, revealed last week, also showed that nearly 3m patients awaiting care had not received a first appointment with a specialist or a diagnostic test since their referral.
The Patients Association described the ‘invisible waiting list crisis’ as ‘staggering’, as millions are left in limbo while their health deteriorates.
Other companies which have benefited from the boom in demand from those wanting to go private include Spire, Nuffield and Circle.
David Rowland, director of think-tank Centre for Health and the Public Interest, told The Guardian: ‘You’ve now got more and more people who are having to pay out of their own pockets for things like dental care or operations that aren’t available on the NHS.
‘Nobody’s being honest about the extent to which this is happening. No politician has stood up and advocated for it.
It’s a trend which has been happening increasingly over the past 30 years with Labour, Conservative and Lib Dem parties in charge.’
The General Medical Council recently revealed that 19 per cent of doctors are considering a move abroad – believing the profession is ‘treated better’ in other countries and better-paid.
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