NatWest Group plc — the bank formerly known as RBS — confirmed on Monday it reached an agreement to acquire wealth manager Evelyn Partners from funds advised by Permira and Warburg Pincus for £2.7 billion enterprise value.
Edinburgh-registered NatWest Group also announced a new share buyback of £750 million.
“The transaction creates the UK’s leading Private Banking and Wealth Management business (PBWM), transforming NatWest Group’s savings and investment offering for its 20 million customers,” said NatWest-RBS.
“It accelerates delivery of NatWest Group’s strategy, further diversifying income by increasing fee income by c.20% pre-revenue synergies.
“It also increases NatWest Group’s exposure to a high growth, capital light segment, with PBWM becoming c.20% of group customer assets and liabilities.”
Evelyn Partners is a UK wealth manager overseeing £69 billion of assets under management and administration (AUMA).
Emma Crystal
NatWest-RBS added: “The Transaction brings together two established institutions with a shared commitment to supporting clients at every stage of their lives, under the leadership of Emma Crystal, Chief Executive PBWM.
“By combining Evelyn Partners’ £69 billion of AUMA with NatWest Group’s £59 billion brings total AUMA to £127 billion and total Customer Assets and Liabilities to £188 billion.
“NatWest Group expects the combination of Evelyn Partners with its existing PBWM business to create material shareholder value, including estimated annual run-rate cost synergies of c.£100 million, equivalent to around 10% of the combined PBWM cost base, with costs to achieve of c.£150 million.
“NatWest Group also intends to deliver significant revenue synergies through bringing Evelyn Partners’ leading financial planning and investment management solutions together with NatWest Group’s full suite of banking and wealth management solutions to our 20 million customers …
“The transaction will strengthen NatWest Group’s capital generation and it will remain well-capitalised. Following the £750 million share buyback announced today, NatWest Group expects its next share buyback announcement to be at its H1 2027 results.
“The ordinary dividend payout ratio of around 50% of attributable profits remains unchanged.
“The Transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the summer of 2026.
“Ardea Partners International LLP and BofA Securities served as joint lead financial advisers to NatWest. UBS also acted as a financial adviser to NatWest.”
NatWest Group CEO Paul Thwaite said: “Bringing together these two leading businesses creates a unique opportunity to provide financial planning, savings and investment services to more families and people across the UK. We look forward to welcoming our new clients and working with our colleagues at Evelyn Partners to transform the services our 20 million customers across the Group can expect from us.
“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, as well as helping to drive growth and investment across the economy.
“This transaction creates the UK’s leading Private Banking and Wealth Management business, delivering the scale and capabilities needed to succeed in a market with significant growth potential. It accelerates delivery of NatWest Group’s strategy and positions us to realise our longer-term ambitions.
“This represents a strategically and financially compelling use of capital, enhancing income diversification and strengthening returns in a high‑growth segment, to deliver sustainable long‑term value creation.”
Evelyn Partners CEO Paul Geddes said: “Evelyn Partners is a leading UK wealth manager with more than 180 years of heritage. We are proud to have grown to £69 billion of assets under management, under the stewardship of Permira, investors in the business since 2014, and Warburg Pincus, a minority investor since 2020.
“We are delighted to join NatWest Group, which marks an exciting new chapter for Evelyn Partners. We both have a long-standing history as highly regarded wealth managers with a client-centric culture.
“Together, we have the scale, resources, and shared vision to provide unparalleled service to our clients. We look forward to working together to build on our success and drive future growth.”