NatWest Group (NYSE:NWG) executives outlined their planned acquisition of Evelyn Partners during a conference call held on short notice following the deal announcement, describing the transaction as a strategic move to create what they called the U.K.’s leading private bank and wealth manager.
Deal overview and strategic rationale
NatWest said it will acquire Evelyn Partners for GBP 2.7 billion in cash. Management described Evelyn Partners as a market-leading financial planning and investment management firm with a 180-year heritage, a “high-quality, loyal” client base, and what NatWest characterized as a strong cultural fit.
Financial performance and scale
NatWest highlighted Evelyn Partners’ 2025 performance, including income of GBP 509 million and EBITDA of GBP 179 million, representing a 35% margin. The company also reported net new inflows of GBP 1.6 billion in 2025. Executives said they see strong prospects for future growth and referenced a 7% CAGR in AUM historically when responding to analyst questions.
On scale, NatWest said Evelyn’s GBP 69 billion in assets under management and administration (AUMA), combined with NatWest’s GBP 59 billion, would create GBP 127 billion in total AUMA. NatWest also said total customer assets and liabilities for the combined business would be GBP 188 billion, which management said amounts to about 20% of the group’s total customer assets and liabilities.
NatWest added that the transaction is expected to increase fee income by about 20% before synergies, making non-interest income a larger proportion of group revenues.
Synergies and integration priorities
NatWest said it expects to realize about GBP 100 million of cost synergies, mainly by removing duplication in shared services and technology applications and achieving efficiencies of scale. The cost to achieve is expected to be approximately GBP 150 million, phased over three years.
Management described revenue synergies as a “meaningful opportunity,” and outlined two broad strands:
- Bringing Evelyn’s financial planning and investment capabilities to NatWest customers across the group, including retail and commercial & institutional clients, and enhancing NatWest’s direct-to-consumer offer through Bestinvest.
- Providing Evelyn clients with NatWest’s broader banking solutions, including offerings associated with Coutts and NatWest, alongside a combined wealth management proposition.
When asked for more detail on cost actions, NatWest pointed to technology and platform consolidation and said both businesses use common platforms including Avaloq and Aladdin. The bank also cited potential to streamline functions, licenses, shared services, and marketing spend. Management said it had built a detailed bottom-up plan during due diligence and emphasized a client-led approach to integration.
Capital impact, returns, and shareholder distributions
NatWest said the acquisition is expected to reduce its CET1 ratio by around 130 basis points and that it remains “well capitalized.” Executives said the capital impact is driven mainly by goodwill, with additional impacts from other intangibles, a small P&L component, and some incremental risk-weighted assets tied to operational risk.
Management also described the deal as an attractive use of capital, stating it is expected to be accretive to return on tangible equity in year one and to deliver returns above those generated through share buybacks. In response to analyst questions on how those comparisons were made, NatWest said it was evaluating returns over a three-year outlook, with synergies expected to be delivered by around 2028. Executives also said their return assessment includes amortization on a statutory basis, while noting amortization is capital neutral for CET1 purposes. NatWest said it would provide additional guidance on amortization on Friday.
Alongside the deal announcement, NatWest said it is launching a GBP 750 million share buyback and reiterated that its dividend payout ratio of around 50% remains unchanged. The bank said it currently expects the next share buyback announcement at its first-half 2027 results.
NatWest also said the transaction is expected to complete in the summer, subject to customary regulatory approvals. During Q&A, management stated a 24% tax rate should be used for the acquired business.
About NatWest Group (NYSE:NWG)
NatWest Group plc is a major UK-based banking and financial services group headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland. The company traces its roots to the Royal Bank of Scotland, founded in 1727, and adopted the NatWest Group name in 2020 as part of a strategic refocus on its NatWest brand. NatWest Group is listed on the London Stock Exchange and also has American depositary shares trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NWG.
The group provides a broad range of banking services across retail, private, commercial, corporate and institutional segments.
