H.I.G. Realty and Barts Health NHS Trust Partner to Launch the First Barts Life Sciences Project

LONDON, Jan. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- H.I.G. Capital ("H.I.G."), a leading global alternative investment firm with $74 billion of capital under management, is pleased to announce a strategic partnership with the Barts Health NHS Trust to deliver the first applied healthcare innovation building within the newly launched Barts Life Sciences Cluster at Cavell Street in London, Whitechapel.

The partnership brings together one of the UK's largest NHS Trusts, a global investment platform, and a specialist science and technology developer to pioneer new models of collaboration between clinicians, researchers, and industry. The 170,000 sq ft Cavell Street development will serve as a landmark project within the Cluster, marking the start of a new era for health innovation in East London, and one defined by the integration of clinical excellence and commercial capability.

Cavell Street will establish a new hub for NHS industry collaboration, enabling companies to work directly with Barts Health clinicians and researchers to shape, test, and refine next-generation technologies across MedTech, AI, digital health, and other emerging fields. The development aims to create a state-of-the-art environment for applied healthcare innovation where MedTech and life sciences organisations can co-develop, demonstrate, and validate technologies in real clinical settings in partnership with staff from The Royal London Hospital and other Barts Health hospitals.

Cavell Street aims to create a high-performance, innovation-ready ecosystem that speeds the journey from prototype to patient and enhances the UK's capacity for NHS-embedded innovation.  

Shane DeGaris, Group CEO of Barts Health NHS Trust, said: "Through the Barts Life Sciences Cluster, we are bringing clinicians, patients, industry, and academia together in new ways. This first partnership project at Cavell Street begins to turn that ambition into reality. By creating environments where innovation can be shaped directly by NHS teams and tested in real care settings, we aim to improve patient outcomes and support economic opportunity for East London."

Jérôme Fouillé, Managing Director at H.I.G. Realty in Europe, commented: "We are delighted to partner with Barts Health on the Cluster's first innovation-led development. Cavell Street will create a new platform for global companies to collaborate directly with NHS clinicians, reinforcing the Cluster's position as a leading centre for applied healthcare innovation."

About the Barts Life Science Cluster

Located in Whitechapel, East London, and anchored around The Royal London Hospital, the Barts Life Sciences Cluster is focused on creating a world-class ecosystem that brings together clinical, research, innovation, and commercial activity across MedTech, AI, digital health, and therapeutics. The Cluster integrates The Royal London Hospital — renowned for its clinical excellence and diverse patient base — and is adjacent to the research-intensive Queen Mary University of London. Its mission is to accelerate the development and adoption of innovation, drive inclusive economic growth, and improve health outcomes for patients in East London and beyond. Please find an image of the Cluster below and more information here on the Barts Life Sciences Website.

About Barts Health NHS Trust

With a turnover of £2.5billion and a workforce of over 20,000, Barts Health is a leading healthcare provider in Britain and one of the largest NHS trusts in the country. The Trust's five hospitals – St Bartholomew's Hospital in the City, The Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, Newham Hospital in Plaistow, Whipps Cross Hospital in Leytonstone and Mile End Hospital – deliver high quality compassionate care to the 2.5 million people of east London and beyond, including delivering over 14,000 babies every year and treating more than 7,000 patients daily. For more information, please visit bartshealth.nhs.uk.

About H.I.G. Capital

H.I.G. is a leading global alternative investment firm with $74 billion of capital under management.* Based in Miami, and with offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Stamford in the United States, as well as international affiliate offices in Hamburg, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Bogotá, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Dubai, and Hong Kong, H.I.G. specializes in providing both debt and equity capital to middle market companies, utilizing a flexible and operationally focused/value-added approach:

• H.I.G.'s equity funds invest in management buyouts, recapitalizations, and corporate carve-outs of both profitable as well as underperforming manufacturing and service businesses.
  
  
• H.I.G.'s debt funds invest in senior, unitranche, and junior debt financing to companies across the size spectrum, both on a primary (direct origination) basis, as well as in the secondary markets. H.I.G. also manages a publicly traded BDC, WhiteHorse Finance.
  
  
• H.I.G.'s real estate funds invest in value-added properties, which can benefit from improved asset management practices.
  
  
• H.I.G. Infrastructure focuses on making value-add and core plus investments in the infrastructure sector.

Since its founding in 1993, H.I.G. has invested in and managed more than 400 companies worldwide. The Firm's current portfolio includes more than 100 companies with combined sales in excess of $53 billion. For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at hig.com.

*Based on total capital raised by H.I.G. Capital and its affiliates.

Contact:

Riccardo Dallolio
Managing Director
rdallolio@hig.com

Jérôme Fouillé
Managing Director
jfouille@hig.com

H.I.G. Capital
10 Grosvenor Street
2nd Floor
London W1K 4QB
United Kingdom
P: +44 (0) 207 318 5700
hig.com

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2524016/HIG_Europe_Logo.jpg