Stay informed with free updates
Simply sign up to the UK banks myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.
NatWest is nearing a more than £2.5bn takeover for Evelyn Partners, one of Britain’s biggest wealth managers, in what would be the bank’s first major acquisition since returning to full private ownership last year.
The big four lender has beaten competition from rival bank Barclays for Evelyn, according to people familiar with the process. The announcement is set to be made as soon as Monday, they said.
Canadian bank RBC had also expressed earlier interest in the wealth manager, which has nearly £65bn of assets under management and is backed by Warburg Pincus and Permira.
The firm’s private equity owners have been working with investment bankers to seek offers from high street banks, which are trying to diversify from traditional lending because it is exposed to the interest rate cycle.
At the same time, asset managers across Europe have been rapidly consolidating to increase scale, partly to withstand the mounting cost of regulation.
The deal marks the biggest acquisition for NatWest, formerly RBS, in decades. After the financial crisis the bank was forced into retrenchment as it restructured, while the government took a large stake after its bailout.
Analysts had been expecting it to pursue a major deal ever since it returned to full private ownership last May.
NatWest recently offered £11bn to buy the UK operations of Santander UK, but was rejected, and also ruled itself out of the TSB sale process.
People familiar with the matter said that NatWest had considered a takeover of Evelyn Partners several times in the past. The FT reported that NatWest was considering a bid last year.
Permira first invested in the business that would become Evelyn Partners in 2014, when it merged the online wealth manager Bestinvest with rival firm Tilney.
In 2020, Warburg Pincus injected capital to finance a merger between Tilney and Smith & Williamson, with the combined group renamed Evelyn. Last year the group sold its professional services arm to Apax Partners.
Evelyn, which appointed former Direct Line chief Paul Geddes as chief executive in 2023, had been considered a potential candidate for a listing on the London Stock Exchange.
Permira declined to comment. A representative for Warburg did not respond to an immediate request for comment. Natwest and Barclays declined to comment.
Sky News first reported that NatWest was nearing the takeover.