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In a bold bid to reshape Britain’s wealth landscape, NatWest to acquire Evelyn Partners for £2.7 billion ($3.7 billion), tightening its grip on the private banking and wealth management market.

The FTSE 100-listed NatWest Group PLC announced Monday that it has agreed to buy the British wealth manager from global investment firm Permira and private equity heavyweight Warburg Pincus. The transaction is designed to accelerate NatWest’s ambitions in financial planning, savings and investment services across the U.K.

Alongside the acquisition, NatWest unveiled a £750 million share buyback program, signaling confidence even as it embarks on one of the largest wealth deals in recent U.K. history.

Building a Wealth Powerhouse

“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 U.K.,” NatWest Chief Executive Paul Thwaite said in a statement.

The acquisition is expected to lift NatWest’s fee income by about 20% and increase the share of private banking and wealth management operations to 20% of its customer assets and liabilities. Once completed, the deal would expand NatWest’s total assets under management and administration to £127 billion.

NatWest said it plans to fund the purchase from existing resources, a move projected to reduce its Common Equity Tier 1 ratio — a key measure of financial resilience — by nearly 130 basis points.

The transaction is anticipated to close in the summer, subject to regulatory approval. Specific regulators involved were not disclosed.

A Record Private Equity Exit

Permira, which held a majority stake in Evelyn Partners, described the sale as the largest-ever disposal by a private equity firm of a stake in a U.K. wealth manager.

Permira funds first invested in the business in 2014, when it operated under the name Bestinvest. Through a string of acquisitions — including Tilney, Towry and Smith & Williamson — the company evolved into Evelyn Partners, steadily expanding its reach and capabilities.

Under Permira’s majority ownership, assets under management surged from approximately £5 billion to £69 billion by the end of 2025. Warburg Pincus joined as a minority investor in 2020.

A 180-Year Legacy

Evelyn Partners, with a history stretching back more than 180 years, provides financial planning, investment management and operates the online consumer platform BestInvest. The firm reported operating income of £509 million for 2025.

Paul Geddes, chief executive of Evelyn Partners, said the firm shares NatWest’s goal “to be the U.K.'s leading private banking and wealth management business.”

He pointed to NatWest’s longstanding presence in wealth management through Coutts & Co., the storied private bank. “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,” Geddes said.

Advisers Behind the Deal

Slaughter and May is serving as legal adviser to NatWest. The team, working alongside the bank’s mergers and acquisitions legal unit, was led by Emma Rees, assisted by David Cole and Angus Davidson.

Linklaters LLP is advising Permira and Warburg Pincus. Macfarlanes LLP is acting as legal counsel to the Evelyn Partners group. Financial advisers to Evelyn Partners are Evercore Partners International LLP and Goldman Sachs International.

As consolidation sweeps through the financial sector like a rising tide, NatWest’s move underscores a broader race among banks to capture fee-based revenue streams. If approved, the deal will fuse a centuries-old wealth manager with one of Britain’s largest banking groups — a union poised to redraw the contours of U.K. private finance.