NatWest has agreed a £2.7 billion deal to acquire Evelyn Partners in its largest corporate takeover since the banking group was rescued by taxpayers during the financial crisis, and its most significant acquisition since returning to full private ownership.
The purchase of the wealth manager from private equity firms Permira and Warburg Pincus, combined with NatWest’s existing Coutts franchise, will create the UK’s largest private banking and wealth management business. The enlarged group will oversee £127 billion of assets under management and administration.
The deal, which NatWest said would deliver annual run-rate synergies of around £100 million, raises the prospect of job losses over time, although the Evelyn Partners brand will be retained initially. Around 150,000 affluent UK families will see responsibility for their investments move under the NatWest umbrella.
Edinburgh-based NatWest beat off rival bidders including Barclays and Royal Bank of Canada to secure the acquisition, as Britain’s major lenders step up their focus on wealth management to offset an expected decline in interest income as central bank rates begin to fall. Rivals HSBC and Lloyds have already expanded their presence in the sector.
Paul Thwaite, NatWest’s chief executive, said the transaction would strengthen the bank’s ability to support savers and investors. “At a time when the benefits of saving and investing are increasingly part of the national conversation, we can help customers to make more of their money through a broader range of services, while also helping to drive growth and investment across the economy,” he said.
The acquisition is NatWest’s biggest since its ill-fated joint purchase of ABN Amro in 2008, when the group was still known as Royal Bank of Scotland. That deal contributed to a crisis that culminated in a £45.5 billion taxpayer bailout. NatWest was returned to full private ownership in May last year, after the government sold its remaining shares at an overall loss of £10.5 billion.
Evelyn Partners was put up for sale last August following the spin-out of its professional services arm to Apax Partners. Formed from the 2020 merger of Tilney and Smith & Williamson, the business employed around 2,400 people at the end of 2024 and oversaw £63 billion of client assets. It has been led since 2023 by Paul Geddes, a former Royal Bank of Scotland executive who previously oversaw the stock market listing of Direct Line.
Thwaite, 54, was appointed chief executive in February 2024 after Dame Alison Rose stepped down following a row over the closure of Nigel Farage’s Coutts bank account. He has repeatedly stressed that there is a “very high bar” for acquisitions.
Analysts expressed surprise that NatWest had emerged as the winning bidder. Benjamin Toms of RBC Capital Markets said: “We are somewhat surprised that NatWest has come out on top, given how tightly the chief executive holds the bank’s purse strings. While this may be seen as a bolt-on deal, it is potentially transformational, filling a clear gap in NatWest’s affluent wealth offering.”
Permira has owned Evelyn Partners since 2014, backing its expansion into a major wealth manager. NatWest said the transaction would be funded from existing resources and would reduce its core equity tier one capital ratio by around 130 basis points.
Since taking the helm, Thwaite has already overseen the acquisition of much of Sainsbury’s Bank and the purchase of a £2.5 billion mortgage book from Metro Bank, insisting that any deal must be both financially and strategically compelling.
The transaction comes amid a broader shake-up in the wealth management sector. Royal Bank of Canada acquired Brewin Dolphin for £1.6 billion in 2022, while US firm Raymond James bought Charles Stanley for £279 million. An initial public offering of Evelyn Partners had also been under consideration, raising questions about the health of the UK’s flotations market.
Alongside the deal announcement, NatWest unveiled a new £750 million share buyback ahead of its full-year results later this week. Shares in the bank fell around 3 per cent in early trading as investors weighed the impact of the acquisition on future capital returns.
