Private equity-owned wealth manager and Financial Planner Evelyn Partners has been sold to banking giant NatWest for £2.7bn, subject to regulatory approval.
The sale by equity firm Permira and minority owner Warburg Pincus is expected to complete in the summer of 2026.
The deal will see Evelyn Partners’ £69bn of AUMA combined with the £59bn AUMA of NatWest group’s existing Private Banking and Wealth Management (PBWM) business, which includes Coutts.
The combined business will oversee more than £127bn of AUMA and total customer assets and liabilities of £188bn. It will be led by Emma Crystal, chief executive of PBWM.
Paul Geddes, chief executive officer of Evelyn Partners, said: “NatWest Group will be a great new home for Evelyn Partners. Together, our shared vision is to be the UK’s leading Private Banking and Wealth Management business.
“We are hugely excited by the opportunity which this transaction presents, providing us with greater scale and resources, for the benefit of our clients and colleagues.”
Paul Thwaite, chief executive of NatWest, said: “Bringing together these two 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 service our 20m customers across the group can expect from us.”
Evelyn’s history dates back to 1986 when former stockbroker John Spiers set up BestInvest. He later sold the firm to 3i in 2007 for more than £165m.
The company was later sold to private equity owner Permira and in 2014 was merged with Tilney, before Tilney merged with Smith & Williamson. That group subsequently rebranded to Evelyn Partners in June 2022.
The brand was named after Evelyn Gardens, the 1893 London address of one of the business’ founders.
Under the ownership of Permira, assets under management increased from £5bn to £69bn. Warburg Pincus became a minority investor in the company upon the acquisition of Smith & Williamson in 2020.