![\"NatWest](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/natwest.jpeg\")
\t\tNatWest Group logo is seen in this illustration taken January 7, 2026. REUTERS\/Dado Ruvic\/Illustration\t<\/p>\n\t\t\tTuesday 10 February 2026 1:21 am
\n\t\t\t\t\t\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Updated:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\t\t\tMonday 09 February 2026 4:38 pm\n\t<\/p>\n
\t\tNatWest Group logo is seen in this illustration taken January 7, 2026. REUTERS\/Dado Ruvic\/Illustration\t<\/p>\n
Natwest has opened its wallet for its biggest deal since the financial crisis<\/a>, as the bank revives its appetite for acquisitions after the remaining government-owned shares in the business were finally sold.<\/p>\n But after the FTSE 100 firm watched its share price sink into the red on Monday, will there be a sense of buyer\u2019s remorse<\/a>?<\/p>\n The bank splashed a whopping \u00a32.7bn to snap up Evelyn Partners \u2013 significantly more than some shareholders had expected \u2013 taking the wealth manager out of the hands of private equity owners Permira and Warburg.<\/p>\n The move also thrusts Natwest deeper into the wealth management space \u2013 an area where UK banks are desperate to gain a foothold.<\/p>\n \u201cIt creates our third growth engine within the group,\u201d chief executive Paul Thwaite said on Monday.<\/p>\n Taking Evelyn\u2019s \u00a369bn assets under management under the Natwest umbrella, the bank will now boast a total of \u00a3127bn assets, making it the largest of the bank-owned wealth managers.\u00a0<\/p>\n Though that still leaves the firm behind other specialist non-bank wealth managers such as St James Place, which has around \u00a3199bn.<\/p>\n By Monday afternoon, Natwest had tumbled nearly eight per cent to 608.40p, reversing the past month of gains.<\/p>\n Gary Greenwood, equity analyst at Shore Capital, said the move was \u201cstrategically logical\u201d as part of the bank\u2019s ambition to ramp up its wealth management offer but warned \u201ccaution on the deal\u2019s economics, which rely heavily on synergy delivery to justify the price\u201d.<\/p>\n The price tag marks a 9.7x multiple on Evelyn\u2019s latest \u00a3179m in earnings, but includes the amount of annual expenses the bank plans to cut once the two companies are fully combined.<\/p>\n The group has promised \u00a3100m in annual cost savings, but will involve \u00a3150m of spending to achieve this \u2013 though this has the potential to climb if the integration doesn\u2019t go smoothly.<\/p>\n The deal also eats up 130 basis points of Natwest\u2019s CET1 ratio \u2013 which serves as a major benchmark of a bank\u2019s financial health.<\/p>\n Still, Natwest\u2019s top team is confident it will have more than just a hefty receipt to tout to shareholders.\u00a0<\/p>\n Finance boss Katie Murray insisted \u201cthis is not a situation where we\u2019ve overpaid\u201d.<\/p>\n The returns would be \u201cgreater than a share buyback,\u201d she added, which comes after Natwest promised to put future share purchase programmes on hold until the first half of 2027 following the deal. The bank did launch a \u00a3750m scheme simultaneously with the deal announcement in a bid to sweeten the news.\u00a0<\/p>\n Natwest beats rivals to wealth push<\/p>\n Over the last week, Natwest is faced off against rivals<\/a> to snap up Evelyn.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRead more<\/p>\n \t\t\tRevolut bags watchdog approval to beef up UK wealth offering<\/a><\/p>\n Barclays was gearing up to table a \u00a32bn, according to Sky News<\/a>, as the bank pursues its own wealth ambitions.\u00a0<\/p>\n Banking giants have ramped up plans for a wealth management push in the last year with the division offering lenders a less volatile and more capital-light source of income, due to its reliance on recurring fees rather than the interest rate fluctuations that affect traditional lending.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are somewhat surprised Natwest appears to have come out on top, given how tightly the chief executive holds the bank\u2019s purse strings,\u201d Benjamin Toms, analyst at RBC, said as reports broke that Natwest had emerged the most likely contender.<\/p>\n Toms added whilst it marks a \u201cbolt on transaction,\u201d it would still be \u201ctransformational,\u201d filling the bank\u2019s gap in its affluent wealth offering and making it the third largest wealth manager in the UK, as per RBC analysis.<\/p>\n Natwest has exposure to the wealth market through Coutts, which is renowned for serving the ultra-high-net-worth with a cool \u00a31m entry requirement to open an account.<\/p>\n This differs from the base of Evelyn which focuses on the mass affluent and professional classes in search of smart, tech-led advice to grow their nests.<\/p>\n The new climb up the rankings is set to pile the pressure on FTSE 100 rivals Lloyds and Barclays, whose bosses have made scaling wealth divisions a key part of their growth strategy.<\/a><\/p>\n Barclays has doubled down on its private bank division, where total income reached \u00a3697m in the first half of 2025, in boss CS Venkatkrishnan\u2019s mission to reduce reliance on the low-returning investment bank.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Lloyds\u2019 Charlie Nunn brought a flavour of his old role when he took to the helm at the bank in August 2021.<\/p>\n The former head of wealth and personal banking made expanding Lloyds mass affluent range one of his defining missions with targets including increasing high net worth clients\u2019 total holdings with the bank \u2013 everything from savings to pensions and investments \u2013 by over ten per cent.<\/p>\n![\"Breaking](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/01K06Q7Z0X038G0KESKATD217C.jpeg\")
Natwest chief Paul Thwaite touted the deal on Monday. (Image: PA)<\/p>\n