NatWest’s largest acquisition in decades

£2.7bn

enterprise value

Eight

jurisdictions where we coordinated
specialist advice

£127bn

total AUMA

Transaction overview

01	On 9 February 2026, NatWest announced that it had reached an agreement to acquire Evelyn Partners from funds advised by Permira and Warburg Pincus for £2.7bn enterprise value.
02	Completion of the acquisition, which is subject to customary regulatory approvals, is expected in the summer of 2026.

Strategic rationale

Accelerate the delivery of NatWest’s strategy

It will also accelerate the delivery of NatWest’s strategy, by significantly expanding its fee-based income and thereby reducing its reliance on rate-dependent revenue.

The UK's leading private banking and wealth management business

The transaction will create the UK's leading private banking and wealth management business with a total AUMA of £127bn.

A leading UK wealth management group

Evelyn Partners offers an integrated wealth management proposition spanning financial planning, discretionary investment management and its direct-to-consumer platform BestInvest.

Broader range of services

The acquisition will allow NatWest to help its 20 million customers to make more of their money through a broader range of services.

What value did we bring?

Best in class

We leveraged our full-service M&A platform and deep wealth management expertise to deliver this transformative transaction. We moved at pace and used strategic and tactical judgement to analyse and address risks, to guide NatWest through a competitive and time-pressured sales process.

Incisive regulatory insight

Our financial regulatory team drew on its deep understanding of the banking sector to devise a transaction structure, regulatory engagement strategy and integration plan that were consistent with ring-fencing and other regulatory requirements that apply to NatWest.

Coordination across jurisdictions

We coordinated specialist advice across multiple jurisdictions to ensure a seamless, integrated service for our client.

Working hand in globe with our client

This transaction was our first major instruction from NatWest. We worked hard from day one to earn their trust and confidence and managed to build strong working relationships with the NatWest M&A legal team, private banking and wealth management legal team and senior stakeholders across the group.

Deal team

David Watkins Partner

Jan Putnis Partner

Nick Pacheco Partner

Thomas Peacock Partner

Back to top

This material is provided for general information only. It does not constitute legal or other professional advice.

NatWest to acquire Evelyn Partners