City trio lead on £2.7bn Evelyn Partners sale to NatWest

Macfarlanes is acting for UK wealth manager Evelyn Partners on its £2.7 billion sale to NatWest, with Slaughter and May acting for the banking group, in a deal set to create one of the UK’s largest private banking and wealth management businesses.‍

Linklaters is acting for private equity owners Permira and Warburg Pincus on the exit, following a multi-year investment focused on consolidation and growth in the UK wealth management market.

The backstory

Evelyn Partners is a UK wealth manager with £69 billion of assets under management, spanning financial planning, investment management and its online direct-to-consumer investment platform Bestinvest.

Permira’s involvement dates back to its 2014 investment in Bestinvest and, through a series of acquisitions including Tilney and Smith & Williamson, the brands consolidated under the name Evelyn Partners. Assets under management grew from around £5bn to £69bn under Permira’s majority ownership, with Warburg Pincus joining as a minority investor in 2020.

Under their ownership, the business has pursued a strategy of simplification and targeted disposals, including the £700 million sale of its professional services arm to PE firm Apax in 2024 - a deal that saw A&O Shearman and Macfarlanes enlisted. 

The sale to NatWest marks the next stage in that evolution, as the business moves from private equity ownership into a bank-backed structure.

NatWest private again

NatWest notably returned to full private ownership in May 2025, nearly 17 years after the UK government took a large stake in the then-Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) as part of a £45 billion rescue during the 2008 financial crisis.

The acquisition of Evelyn Partners is one of the most significant strategic moves NatWest has made since returning to full private ownership and will see the business sit alongside Coutts, the group’s private banking arm. 

Advising

The Macfarlanes team is led by London corporate partner Tom Rose, reflecting a long-standing adviser relationship that has has included the Tilney and Smith & Williamson merger, including Warburg Pincus’ co-investment alongside Permira, as well as the sale of Evelyn Partners’ professional services business to Apax two years ago.

The Linklaters team acting for Permira and Warburg Pincus was led by London partners Alex Woodward and Chris Boycott.

Slaughter and May acted for NatWest, led by London corporate partners David Watkins, Nick Pacheco and Thomas Peacock.