The Power Fifty winners 2019

Grand Prix winner 2019

Julian Evans
Partner and head of healthcare, Knight Frank

For the first time, the HealthInvestor Power Fifty Grand Prix award goes to an advisor to the sector. Since its inception, the list has been dominated by chief executives of operating businesses but in 2019 the top prize goes to a sector leader described by one member of the Power Fifty as “young fresh and dynamic”. As head of healthcare at Knight Frank, Julian Evans is one of the most recognisable and charismatic figures in the health and social care market – and clearly popular amongst his peer group. Having been involved in “various deals” this year, including the recent Brighterkind sale, Julian has a reputation for being involved in the “higher quality transactions”. He also stands out for his remarkable efforts in raising money for charity, which peaked in 2019 when he summited Mount Everest during some of the toughest conditions seen on the mountain.

Since 1994, Julian has concentrated on the valuation, acquisition and disposal of trading businesses. From 2000 he specialised in healthcare consultancy, now annually advising on approximately £12 billion of healthcare property. Within the past two years his team has won 21 out of 23 major pitches. Julian primarily acts for corporate and private operators, banks, institutions and funds in the valuation, acquisition and disposal of trading care homes, specialist (acute) care homes, hospitals, day centres, medical surgeries, investments, and C2 development sites throughout the UK and continental Europe. Other work included care villages, retirement apartments and day nurseries.

Leading investor 2019

Mark Hall
Senior partner, Graphite Capital

The 2019 leading investor impressed his peers with a year of considerable activity, with Graphite Capital “investing across UK healthcare including NRS and Horizon, as well as further consolidation with City & County”. In a year when deal-making was far from straightforward, Mark Hall and his team were praised for both their activity levels and their approach to execution. Mark has a “strong reputation for delivery… and an experienced, straightforward approach”, according to his peers.

Graphite Capital is a UK mid-market private equity firm in the healthcare and education sectors. Mark has led and structured a variety of transactions since joining the firm in 2008. He represents Graphite on the boards of NRS Healthcare, City & County Healthcare, Compass Community, Horizon Care & Education and Explore Learning. His previous investments include Education Personnel, National Fostering Agency and Willowbrook Healthcare. Mark began his career with JP Morgan, first in London and then in Sydney, before joining Gresham Private Equity in Sydney and then Lyceum Capital in London.

Leading investor nominees
The HealthInvestor Power Fifty Leading Investor title is awarded to the individual – whether at a private equity firm, family office, REIT or institutional fund – that has spearheaded the most innovative deals or portfolio company exits in 2019.

  • Phil Bayliss, CEO of later living, L&G Capital
  • Ruben Bhagobati, partner, AMP Capital
  • Andrew Cowley, managing partner, Impact REIT
  • Benjamin Davis, chief executive, Octopus Healthcare
  • Mark Hall, senior partner, Graphite Capital
  • Iain Macleod, managing partner, Icon Infrastructure Fund
  • Kenneth MacKenzie, founder and chief executive, Target Fund Managers
  • Andrew Ovey, head of healthcare, AXA Investment Managers – Real Assets
  • David Porter, Founding partner, Apposite Capital
  • Justin Skiver, senior vice president – international, Welltower

Deal maker 2019

Richard Lunn
Managing director – care, Christie & Co

In the deal maker category, the award in 2019 goes to one of the most connected people in the sector. Having been involved in care home transactions for over 30 years “Richard Lunn is prolific in his field… and still the go-to adviser for individual sales”. As one Power Fifty member said, “in a world where big operators are handing their problems to landlords, Richard can maximise value”. Voters also recognised the scale and reach of the Christie & Co team, saying their activity levels “give them a huge amount of relevant data which informs everything they do”.

Richard has considerable experience in the healthcare sector, having specialised in it throughout his career. He has worked across Christie & Co’s network – including periods managing the Winchester, Bristol and Birmingham offices. Richard was made an associate director in 1996, a director in 1998 and head of healthcare in 1999.

Working with Christie & Co’s agency and advisory teams, Richard has developed unrivalled relationships with the top corporate and regional healthcare operators, banks, private equity, specialist healthcare funds and REITs.

Deal maker nominees

Well executed deals require a quality transactional lead, and the HealthInvestor Power Fifty Deal Maker accolade goes to the leading corporate financier or property consultant that investors and operators wanted managing their deal in 2019.

  • Issy Corbett, head of healthcare M&A, PwC
  • Justin Crowther, partner, Alantra
  • Tony Drabble, partner, EY
  • Julian Evans, head of healthcare, Knight Frank
  • Hedley Goldberg, global head of healthcare services, Rothschild & Co
  • David Jones, partner – health and life sciences m&a, Deloitte
  • Matthew Lee, head of uk healthcare and managing director, Lincoln International
  • Richard Lunn, managing director – care, Christie & Co
  • Tom Morgan, executive director, healthcare, CBRE
  • Andrew Nicholson, global head of healthcare corporate finance, KPMG

Capital provider 2019

Derek Breingan
Head of health and social care, Clydesdale Bank

The leading capital provider in 2019 was a popular choice, with the Power Fifty members praising Derek Breingan for his “clear-minded and consistent” approach to the sector. “Derek and team have great sector knowledge and have been supporting the industry through some challenging times,” said one voter. “Where many banks have declared that they are still active in the healthcare space, Clydesdale have been prepared to back that up with actual investment, not simply in the top end of the market but throughout,” said another voter. “Their focus is in the borrower as much as it in the asset and this provides opportunities where otherwise the sector would stagnate.”

Derek has many years of UK multi-banking experience and has become involved in the national healthcare agenda, much of which is supporting a wide variety social care and healthcare businesses, including aged and specialist care and looking after children. Derek joined the bank in 2010 to create a dedicated sector approach for the bank and a new name in the sector, and health and social care is now a key segment for Clydesdale’s business banking and represents an ever-increasing and diversified area of growth. Clydesdale is now an established challenger in the senior debt market.

Capital provider nominees

M&A and company expansion just isn’t possible without injections of capital from lenders. This award celebrates the healthcare lead at a bank or alternative capital providers that has been the most supportive to operators and investors in 2019.

  • Derek Breingan, head of health and social care, Clydesdale Bank (CYBG)
  • Dasos Kirtsides, head of healthcare, Shawbrook Bank
  • Jeremy Huband, head of healthcare, HSBC
  • Marguerite Mulvey, head of healthcare, AIB
  • David McHattie, head of public sector and healthcare, Barclays

Outstanding leader 2019

Pete Calveley
Chief executive, Barchester Healthcare

A perennial winner at the HealthInvestor Power Fifty, Pete Calveley continues to command respect in the sector and is seen by many of his peers as “the class act in his field”. Pete attracted praise in 2019 for his “continued strong leadership in the sector” with many viewing Barchester Healthcare as the outstanding organisation in the market. “Pete Calveley is the best chief executive in the sector,” said one voter. “He combines leadership with attention to detail, which few CEOs achieve.”

After eight years as chief executive of Four Seasons Health Care, Pete joined Barchester Healthcare in 2014. He leads a dedicated team of more than 14,000 Barchester staff who provide services for more than 12,000 residents. He is also a member of the Department of Health Forward Thinking Group, which informs policy decisions. He has been central to building awareness of the capability of independent operators to provide services that complement the NHS and in making the case for a joined-up approach to health and social care funding.

Outstanding leader nominees

Health and social care providers operate in undeniably tough trading conditions and growing companies in this environment requires a resilient, visionary and pragmatic leader. The HealthInvestor Power Fifty Outstanding Leader prize is given in recognition of the chief executive who encapsulates these qualities and more, and has steered their company most successfully through the year.

  • Mala Agarwal, chief executive, Athena Care Homes
  • Justin Ash, chief executive, Spire
  • Jane Ashcroft, chief executive, Anchor Hanover
  • Pete Calveley, chief executive, Barchester Healthcare
  • Andrew Cannon, chief executive, Voyage Care
  • Joy Chamberlain, chief executive, Elysium Healthcare
  • Justin Hutchens, chief executive, HC One
  • Steve Gray, chief executive, Nuffield Health
  • Avnish Goyal, managing director, Hallmark Care Homes
  • Paul Jeffery, chief executive, Caring Homes Group
  • Mike Parish, chief executive, Care UK
  • John Reay, president, HCA Healthcare UK
  • Nick Sanderson, chief executive, Audley Retirement
  • John Strowbridge, chief executive, Avery Healthcare
  • Daya Thayan, chief executive, Kingsley Healthcare

Sector specialist 2019

Clare Connell
Chief executive and founder, Connell Consulting

The 2019 sector specialist award is a repeat winner and one of the most visible individuals in the marketplace. “Clare Connell is everywhere, and that is part of her success,” said one voter. “She is strong on working relationships and never complacent about the quality and depth of her team’s analysis and reporting.” The Power Fifty was clearly impressed by the work ethic and level of output Clare and her team generate across the sector. “Clare is extremely hard working, a great networker who produces top quality work that is a crucial help in making the right investment decisions,” said another Power Fifty member.

Connell Consulting is a strategy consulting firm specialising in the UK health, social care and education sectors. The business has built a large and growing market share in the sector over the past seven years, and in the past 12 months the company has produced commercial due diligence on more than £5 billion of transactions in the UK health and social care market. Clare has more than 15 years’ experience working on UK healthcare deals and was voted sector specialist by her peers in the 2018 HealthInvestor Power Fifty. She has a BA (Hons) in History from Durham University.

Sector specialist nominees

Necessary to every deal or company expansion plan, because of their deep sector knowledge, are the due diligence advisors. The HealthInvestor Power Fifty Sector Specialist award is presented to the advisor who has shown themselves most indispensable on transactions or as a source of strategic advice in 2019.

  • Clare Connell, chief executive and founder, Connell Consulting
  • Bhavna Keane Rao, managing director, BKR Care Consultancy
  • Amanda Nurse, managing director, Carterwood
  • Leonid Shapiro, managing partner, Candesic
  • Tony Stein, chief executive, Healthcare Management Solutions

Non-executive director 2019

Mike Parsons

The role of non-executive directors and company chairs is vital in the care sector, and the winner of the 2019 award has a “superb reputation and is recognised as a clear leader in the industry”. Mike Parsons, known to many as the founder of Barchester Healthcare, was praised by other Power Fifty members for his “excellent knowledge and foresight into the sector”. He was singled out for lending his experience of the care home sector to a new generation of talent, and also for taking “his expertise and experience and applying it into new models and markets”.

In 2013 Mike retired from Barchester Healthcare, the company he founded in 1992 and built up from a single care home into one of the UK’s largest care home providers. Since 2013 he has used his experience, expertise and resources to help back other, younger entrepreneurs and their companies. He is chair of Albion Care Communities, chair of Oomph!, vice-chair of Care England, an investor and non-executive director of Connect Physiotherapy, a non-executive director of Grove (Jersey), the holding company of Barchester, an investor and advisor to JellyDrops, and an investor and advisor to Cavalier Productions.

Non-executive director nominees

The HealthInvestor Power Fifty NED prize is given to an individual who has shown themselves to be a dynamic, must-have non-executive director or chairman of a health and social care company by being the perfect foil to the executive teams and an invaluable font of knowledge.

  • Stephen Collier
  • Robert Kilgour
  • Mike Parsons
  • Sandie Foxall-Smith
  • Ted Smith

27 November 2019

The Landmark London, 222 Marylebone Rd, Marylebone, London NW1 6JQ​

Networking reception sponsor:
Event partners:

The Power Fifty 2019 categories:

  • Leading investor
  • Deal maker
  • Capital provider
  • Outstanding leader
  • Sector specialist
  • Non-executive director

About HealthInvestor UK

HealthInvestor UK is the leading magazine and website for investors, operators, lenders and advisors focused on the UK health and social care sector. Our team of experienced journalists provide readers with the latest market news and analysis through our website and monthly magazine.

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