For a generation of startups that raised Seed and Series A capital during the boom years, the path forward has bifurcated. The traditional "escalator" model of venture capital, where a Series A round leads predictably to a Series B growth round, followed by Series C scaling and an IPO, has broken down for the vast majority of market participants. In its place, a new phenomenon has emerged: the Series A Off-Ramp.

The European financial advisory landscape for Healthcare Technology (HealthTech) and Medical Technology (MedTech) is currently navigating a period of profound structural transformation. For the better part of three decades, the provision of merger and acquisition (M&A) advisory services was the exclusive domain of career financiers, individuals whose expertise lay in financial engineering, balance sheet restructuring, and capital markets access, but who frequently lacked dire

The biggest European MedTech developments this week centre on the EU’s proposed overhaul of MDR/IVDR, a broader Commission health package to boost innovation and resilience, and continued capital formation for MedTech and digital health scale‑ups.  Together these moves signal a more innovation‑friendly regulatory path and fresh growth funding for European MedTech heading into 2026.​

Europe’s healthcare M&A is poised to maintain strong momentum in 2026 following this year’s rebound in deal activity and renewed market confidence. “The sector is in a flywheel of productivity with drivers including ageing populations, workforce shortages, and technology adoption,” said Lloyd Price, Partner at Nelson Advisors. Following the turbulent tariff and regulatory environment at the start of 2025, the market is entering a period of relative confidence, he added.

In an investment banking landscape often dominated by career financiers and generalist institutions, Nelson Advisors has cultivated a distinct identity rooted in the operational experience of its leadership. The firm’s "Founders for Founders" philosophy is not merely a marketing tagline but a fundamental operational differentiator that dictates its approach to client selection, deal structuring and negotiation strategy.

The Specialist Boutiques: Firms like Nelson Advisors and Clipperton offer highly targeted, domain-specific expertise. They often cater to founder-led exits and specific verticals like Health IT, MedTech, and AI, providing a level of operational empathy and sector nuance that larger firms cannot provide.

European HealthTech this week is dominated by EU-level moves to unlock health data for AI, ongoing NHS digital transformation in the UK, and continued momentum around EU‑wide digital health initiatives and summits.​ European MedTech this week is defined by three themes: regulatory moves around data and devices, imaging and diagnostics innovation (largely via RSNA spillover), and fresh capital forming for growth-stage and infrastructure-heavy plays in Europe.​

Nelson Advisors Partner Lloyd Price has been invited to Judge the PitchFest Awards at ReWired 2026. This is the third time Lloyd has judged the prestigious awards, highlighting the pedigree of UK Digital Health and MedTech companies. Unlike standard "demo days," PitchFest is specifically designed to break down the barriers between start-ups and the NHS. The judges are not just venture capitalists but also Chief Information Officers (CIOs) and Chief Clinical Information Office

Nelson Advisors invited to Chair the 'Health Data Under Attack: Emerging Vulnerabilities in Healthcare' Panel at Health Tech Forward 2025 Nelson Advisors Partner Lloyd Price Chaired the 'Health Data Under Attack: Emerging Vulnerabilities in Healthcare panel' at Health Tech Forward 2025 in Barcelona this week. The  panel focused around 5 main questions debated by the guests Laura, Alberto and Naoufal. 1) Laura Busquet Raich, Head of Data Protection and ComplianceConsorci de Sa

Nelson Advisors Partner Lloyd Price was invited to Chair the discussions at the IESE Business School Healthcare Club event on the 3rd December in Barcelona. Lloyd was joined on the panel by Javier Matacàs, Investment Director at Careventures and ⁠Ilan Misano, CEO of X-Applied and former Head of the StartUp Growth Lab - Google Israel's startup accelerator.

The first week of December 2025 was defined by two major themes: the domination of RSNA 2025 by European imaging giants and a landmark public private investment partnership to fuel the continent's life sciences sector. The first week of December 2025 highlighted a pivotal shift in European HealthTech regulation, with the European Commission moving to unlock patient data for AI training, a long-awaited reform for the sector. In the UK, the NHS continued its digital integratio

Nelson Advisors has been invited to mentor and judge the MedTech Innovator 2026 programme alongside a panel of esteemed US and European industry executives. Now in its 13th year, MedTech Innovator, the world’s largest medtech accelerator continues to identify the most promising medical device, diagnostic, and digital health startups developing innovative tools to improve patient care.

The European HealthTech and MedTech M&A landscape in 2026 is poised for significant strategic acceleration, marking a transition from cautious, volume-driven dealmaking to high-value, transformative transactions. Deal flow is consolidating toward fewer but substantially larger deals, with market participants prioritising scalable technologies with robust clinical validation and AI integration capabilities.

This report provides an exhaustive analysis of the leading boutique M&A investment bankers advising European Digital Health, HealthTech and MedTech founders. It challenges the traditional "league table" hierarchy, positing that for high-growth, innovation-led companies, specialized sector expertise and deep industrial connectivity often outweigh the balance sheet capabilities of global bulge bracket firms. The analysis distinguishes between the "Industrial MedTech" and "Digit

Join Future Health Intelligence for an end of year market insight webinar to review the key changes that have shaped 2025 and to gain insights into the key trends that will drive the NHS and UK health IT market in 2026 and beyond, identifying the key emerging market opportunities from the three left shifts set out in the NHS 10-year Plan: Fit for the Future.