NatWest Group has reached an agreement to acquire wealth management firm Evelyn Partners for £2.7bn.

The banking group said the acquisition from funds advised by Permira and Warburg Pincus would create a leading private banking and wealth management business.

Reports of a bidding war between NatWest and Barclays for the wealth manager surfaced last week, with offers exceeding £2bn expected.

Following the acquisition, the private banking and wealth management business will become around 20 per cent of NatWest’s group customer assets and liabilities.

The combination of Evelyn Partners’ £69bn of assets under management and administration (AUMA) with NatWest’s £59bn brings total AUMA to £127bn and total customer assets and liabilities to £188bn.

NatWest also announced a share buyback of £750m as part of the transaction.

Ardea Partners International LLP and BofA Securities acted as joint lead financial advisers to NatWest, while UBS also acted as a financial adviser to the banking group.

The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the summer of 2026.

"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 UK,” said NatWest Group chief executive, Paul Thwaite.

“We look forward to welcoming our new clients and working with our colleagues at Evelyn Partners to transform the services our 20 million customers across the group can expect from us.

“This transaction creates the UK's leading private banking and wealth management business, delivering the scale and capabilities needed to succeed in a market with significant growth potential. It accelerates delivery of NatWest Group's strategy and positions us to realise our longer-term ambitions.

“This represents a strategically and financially compelling use of capital, enhancing income diversification and strengthening returns in a high growth segment, to deliver sustainable long term value creation."

Evelyn Partners chief executive, Paul Geddes, added: “We are delighted to join NatWest Group, which marks an exciting new chapter for Evelyn Partners. We both have a long-standing history as highly regarded wealth managers with a client-centric culture.

“Together, we have the scale, resources, and shared vision to provide unparalleled service to our clients. We look forward to working together to build on our success and drive future growth."

The acquisition will be funded from existing resources and is expected to reduce NatWest Group's CET1 ratio by around 130 basis points.

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