NatWest completes £2.7bn Evelyn deal, creating UK's largest wealth manager

NatWest Group's £2.7 billion acquisition of Evelyn Partners closed on 30 June, creating a private banking and wealth management business with £127 billion in client assets.

NatWest Group PLC completed its £2.7 billion acquisition of Evelyn Partners on 30 June, creating the UK's largest private banking and wealth management business with combined client assets of £127 billion.

"This is a unique opportunity for the Group, delivering unmatched scale and capabilities in a market with considerable growth potential," Paul Thwaite, chief executive officer of NatWest Group, said.

The combined entity brings together Evelyn Partners' £69 billion of assets under management and administration at the end of 2025 with NatWest's £59 billion, pushing total customer assets and liabilities to £188 billion, or about 20% of group CAL. NatWest expects the deal to lift fee income by about 20% before revenue synergies and generate annual run-rate cost savings of approximately £100 million, with £150 million in one-time integration costs.

The acquisition transforms NatWest's exposure to the UK wealth market, a structurally higher-growth segment where household financial assets have expanded at an annual rate of about 6% over the past decade. The combined business now serves more than 20 million customers across banking, financial planning and investment management, positioning NatWest to capture a larger share of fee-based revenue as the UK population increasingly shifts from cash to investments.

The deal adds Evelyn Partners' Bestinvest platform and its network of financial advisers to NatWest's existing wealth operations. Chris Kenny, CEO of Evelyn Partners, said the combination strengthens the firm's ability to support clients over the long term while preserving the personal relationships and investment expertise they value.

Emma Crystal, CEO of Private Banking & Wealth Management at NatWest Group, said the combined business brings complementary capabilities and scale. "We look forward to working alongside our new colleagues, putting financial planning and investment management in the hands of more people, right across the UK," she said.

The transaction is expected to be accretive to NatWest's growth and return on tangible equity in the first year of ownership. NatWest, which trades on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker NWG, joins a consolidating UK wealth management sector where firms are bulking up to spread regulatory costs and invest in technology platforms. Lloyds Banking Group acquired wealth manager Embark Group in 2022 for an undisclosed sum, while Barclays has expanded its high-net-worth offering through its Barclays Private Bank division, signaling a broader industry push toward fee-based revenue streams.

The last major UK banking-wealth tie-up of this scale was Lloyds' acquisition of Scottish Widows in 2000, which at the time created a combined savings and insurance business with about £70 billion in assets under management. Adjusted for inflation, NatWest's deal surpasses that transaction in both absolute value and strategic scope, reflecting the growing importance of wealth management as a revenue diversifier for UK retail banks facing narrowing net interest margins.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.