‘Financial pandemic’: £1 in every £11 spent on UK public contractors goes to private equity

One pound in every £11 of UK government spending on contractors went to private equity-controlled companies last year, research shows, including key services such as transport, waste management and healthcare. Politicians and economists have raised concerns over the “financial fragility and sharp cost cutting” created by private equity-backed firms, which often have high levels of debt, and the “conflicting interests” in running public services for maximum profit. Private equity firms are investment companies that raise money from investors and banks to acquire and manage other companies in order to eventually resell them for a profit. Some have described the rapid spread of private equity across public and private services as a “financial pandemic” the government has yet to fully grasp the scale of. Exclusive Guardian analysis found that almost £24.4bn of public spending on contractors went to companies controlled by a private equity firm in the year to April 2025 – equivalent to 8.8% of government contracts. The investigation, based on procurement data provided by the public sector market intelligence firm Tussell, company filings, market data from the financial database PitchBook and reported public information, reveals for the first time the extent of private equity’s stake in Britain’s public services. …