Bupa /buːpə/ is a British international healthcare provisioning and multi-insurance group, with its origins and headquarters in the United Kingdom, but now serving 32 million customers in 190 countries. It is a private healthcare company limited by guarantee,[1] unlike the UK's National Health Service (NHS), which is a tax-funded healthcare system. While initially growing organically through green-field expansions, it has recently tended to function akin to a Private Equity firm, with its corporate strategy heavily influenced by M&A activity in order to consolidate itself as a market leader in healthcare provisioning and multi-insurance.