Single specialty healthcare chains are projected to touch a market size of $9 billion by 2028, growing at about 24 per cent, according to Avendus Capital.
“At present, they have a market size of $4 billion and 27 per cent share within the single specialty segment, but their growth would be fuelled by “strong fundamentals — EBITDA margins exceeding 20 per cent, ROCEs (return on capital employed) above 30 per cent, and early breakeven within two years,” the report said.
In the last decade, the segment has attracted private equity investments of over $3.7 billion, accounting for over 35 per cent of total hospital investments. About 70 per cent of these investments have gone to established specialties such as IVF, eyecare, mother & child care, dialysis and oncology, said Avendus Capital, the investment banking arm of the Avendus Group.
In the last three years, though, leading players in specialties such as dental care, urology / nephrology, skin and hair care have also started to attract investor interest due to demand-supply gaps in these specialties.
“These formats offer an ideal blend of low capital intensity, high specificity of care, and replicable business models that are increasingly appealing to institutional investors and founders alike,” the report noted. Further, it pointed out, market leaders in most of these specialties are tapping into capital to accelerate growth through mergers and acquisitions, indicating consolidation potential, among other things.
“With established players expected to increasingly target public markets, the market cap of listed single specialty chains could rise from the current $3.9 billion to $18 billion by FY30, driven by new listings as well as growth in listed players,” a note on the report said.
Anshul Gupta, Managing Director and Head, Healthcare Investment Banking, Avendus Capital, said: “India’s single specialty healthcare space is witnessing a structural shift, driven by superior unit economics and rising investor confidence. What makes this segment compelling is its ability to improve patient experience, scale efficiently, and deliver strong investor returns.”
Further, he pointed out, “while current penetration is centered around metros and Tier 1 cities, the next wave of growth could come from Tier 2-plus markets, where significant white-spaces exist…We also foresee heightened public market activity, with scaled platforms increasingly tapping into capital markets, mirroring the multi-specialty wave of the past decade”
Such scale-up would require good execution, but the tailwinds are undeniable, he observed, adding that such models have succeeded in developed economies. “It is just a matter of time, and we feel India’s time is not too far away,”he added.