NatWest Group announced on 1 July 2026 that its acquisition of Evelyn Partners had completed. The sale ended an ownership chain that began with Permira’s investment in Bestinvest in 2014. The agreed enterprise value was £2.7bn, and this file sets out who owned Evelyn, what it bought and sold, and what the primary documents do not say.
Current as at 15 October 2026.
Dated fact: the latest event
On 1 July 2026, NatWest Group announced the completion of its acquisition of Evelyn Partners. That date comes from NatWest’s own group page on the brand. The agreement was first announced on 9 February 2026. In the filing of that date, NatWest said it had reached an agreement to acquire Evelyn Partners from funds advised by Permira and Warburg Pincus for £2.7 billion enterprise value. The rules for dating and sourcing a deal report are on How We Source a Deal.
Completion was dated 30 June 2026, and NatWest’s later filing gives total consideration of £2.2bn once the enterprise value is adjusted for cash, debt and working capital Both figures come from NatWest Group 6-K filings: the completion notice of 1 July 2026 and the interim financial statements, which say NatWest acquired 100% of Evelyn Partners Group Limited for total consideration of £2.2 billion.
At signing, NatWest said the deal would be funded from existing resources and would reduce its CET1 ratio by c.130 basis points. It announced a share buyback of £750 million alongside.
On 1 June 2026 Evelyn announced that its CEO, Paul Geddes, and CFO, Alex Gersh, would step down on completion. Chris Kenny, then Chief Investment Management Officer, becomes CEO and reports to Emma Crystal, CEO of NatWest’s private banking and wealth management division. Din Mustaffa, then Deputy CFO, becomes CFO and reports to Kenny.
| Owner/backer | Sector | Known acquisitions (dated) | Sources | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NatWest Group plc | Banking; private banking and wealth management | Evelyn Partners: agreement 9 Feb 2026 at £2.7bn enterprise value; completion announced 1 Jul 2026 | NatWest 6-K, 9 Feb 2026; NatWest group page | 15 Oct 2026 |
| Permira funds (majority owner until the sale) | Private equity | Bestinvest, 2014 (combined with Tilney, 2014); Towry Group, 2016; Smith & Williamson merger, 2020 | Permira, 9 Feb 2026; Evelyn, 25 Nov 2024 | 15 Oct 2026 |
| Warburg Pincus funds (minority investor until the sale) | Private equity | Smith & Williamson merger, 2020 (as backer) | Permira, 9 Feb 2026 | 15 Oct 2026 |
| Evelyn Partners Group (acquirer) | Wealth management | Dart Capital, completed 1 Sept 2023 | Evelyn, 1 Sept 2023 | 15 Oct 2026 |
| Funds advised by Apax Partners LLP | Private equity; owner of S&W (accountancy) | Evelyn’s Professional Services business: binding agreement 25 Nov 2024 | Evelyn, 25 Nov 2024 | 15 Oct 2026 |
Ownership structure
Before the sale, Permira’s release describes the funds’ "majority ownership" and says Warburg Pincus became a minority investor on the 2020 Smith & Williamson transaction. Neither release gives the size of either stake. Permira says assets under management grew from about £5bn to £69bn under its ownership.
Evelyn describes itself as created in 2020 through the merger of Tilney and Smith & Williamson. It reported £68.6bn of assets under management at 31 December 2025.
NatWest’s signing filing describes an integrated model of financial planning, discretionary investment management and the Bestinvest direct-to-consumer platform. It cites approximately 270 financial planners and 325 investment managers. Permira’s release refers to an office network across 21 locations.
The filing also gives Evelyn’s full-year 2025 results:
- operating income of £509m;
- costs of £330m;
- EBITDA of £179m;
- AUMA of £68.6bn;
- net new money of £1.6bn.
NatWest states the price equals a 9.7x EV to EBITDA multiple "including target run-rate cost synergies". It sets those synergies at c.£100m a year, around 10% of the combined PBWM cost base, with costs to achieve of c.£150m. Combined with NatWest’s existing business, it says total AUMA comes to £127 billion.
Advisers named in the Permira release: Evercore and Goldman Sachs International for the Evelyn group, and Linklaters for Permira and Warburg Pincus.
Acquisitions and disposals in date order
- 2014: Permira funds acquired Bestinvest and combined it with Tilney (Evelyn’s description, 25 November 2024).
- 2016: Towry Group acquired.
- 2020: merger with Smith & Williamson, supported by funds advised by Warburg Pincus.
- 2022: the group rebranded as Evelyn Partners after integrating Tilney and Smith & Williamson.
- From the start of 2023: the Professional Services business completed seven transactions: Leathers LLP (Newcastle and Harrogate), Ashcroft Partnership LLP (Cambridge), Creaseys (Tunbridge Wells), Harwood Hutton (Beaconsfield), Haines Watts North (Leeds, Manchester and Newcastle), ReSolve Advisory (London) and an international disputes team from KPMG. Prices are not given.
- 1 September 2023: Evelyn completed Dart Capital, a City of London boutique with £750 million of assets under management and a team of nineteen people. The release gives no price.
- 25 November 2024: Evelyn agreed to sell its Professional Services business to funds advised by Apax. The business was to be rebranded S&W, with c1,600 employees, more than 121 partners and 15 offices. Apax said it would look at strategic M&A in a fragmented market. Completion was on 31 March 2025 Evelyn’s release of 31 March 2025 says the Group will complete the sale that day.
- Undated: the Fund Solutions and Employee Benefits Consultancy businesses were also sold, according to Evelyn’s chair in the 1 June 2026 release.
- 9 February 2026: agreement with NatWest.
- 1 July 2026: completion announced.
What is not known
- The size of the Permira and Warburg Pincus stakes, and how proceeds were split between them. The documents cited do not say.
- The price Apax paid for the Professional Services business. The release gives none.
- Terms of Dart Capital and of the seven professional services deals.
- NatWest’s plans for Evelyn’s brand, offices and adviser network beyond the leadership changes already announced.
- Which regulatory approvals were obtained. Both sides referred only to "customary regulatory approvals".
Our reading of what this means for firms fielding approaches
What follows is the editor’s judgement, not a finding from the documents above. It is aimed at partners who receive consolidator approaches. What the site leaves out is stated on The Premise.
- The headline multiple depends on synergies. On our arithmetic, £2.7bn over £179m of EBITDA is about 15x. NatWest’s 9.7x appears only once target synergies of c.£100m are counted. Readers comparing multiples should check whether a quoted figure is before or after synergies.
- A buyer’s owner can change between approach and completion. Evelyn passed from a private equity-backed group to a bank within the period covered here. The person making an approach may not be the long-term owner of the business a practice joins.
- Wealth and accountancy are now separated at Evelyn. The accountancy arm sits with Apax as S&W. Dart Capital’s release described its clients as including partners of leading accountancy and law firms. Whether that client base now sits with a bank-owned group is a point to check, not a conclusion.
| What to check | Why it matters | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Agreement date | 9 Feb 2026 | NatWest 6-K |
| Enterprise value | £2.7bn | NatWest 6-K; Permira |
| Completion announced | 1 Jul 2026 | NatWest group page |
| Completion date and consideration | 30 Jun 2026; £2.2bn | NatWest 6-K filings (1 Jul 2026; interim statements) |
| FY2025 EBITDA | £179m | NatWest 6-K |
| Multiple including synergies | 9.7x | NatWest 6-K |
| Target run-rate cost synergies | c.£100m; costs to achieve c.£150m | NatWest 6-K |
| Assets under management, 31 Dec 2025 | £68.6bn | Evelyn, 1 Jun 2026 |
| Professional Services sale agreed | 25 Nov 2024, to Apax funds | Evelyn |
| Latest wealth acquisition found | Dart Capital, 1 Sept 2023 | Evelyn |
| Stake sizes and proceeds split | Not disclosed in the documents cited | Permira; NatWest |
Updates
- 15 October 2026: first version.
- Next check: NatWest interim and annual filings for Evelyn integration details; Evelyn’s press centre for any new acquisitions or disposals.
