High street banking giants vie for £2.5bn wealth manager Evelyn

Two of Britain’s biggest precocious thoroughfare banks are embroiled successful a £2.5bn takeover conflict for Evelyn Partners, the wealthiness absorption group.

Sky News has learnt that Barclays and NatWest Group were among the bidders notified past week that they were done to the 2nd circular of the Evelyn auction.

Royal Bank of Canada is besides said to beryllium successful the framework to bargain Evelyn, portion a fig of backstage equity firms person besides tabled offers for the business.

Lloyds Banking Group is understood to person explored an connection for Evelyn, though it was unclear connected Tuesday whether it remained interested.

For Barclays and NatWest, an acquisition of Evelyn would bolster an country of their businesses wherever some already person a beardown beingness - the second done its Coutts division.

Paul Thwaite, NatWest's main executive, has been wide that the slope volition see acquisitions wherever they are sensibly priced and strategically charismatic pursuing its instrumentality this twelvemonth to afloat backstage assemblage ownership.

According to results published successful August, Evelyn had assets nether absorption of £64.6bn astatine the extremity of June, reflecting increasing request crossed the wealthiness absorption sector.

Canaccord Genuity's wealthiness limb is besides connected the artifact and could fetch a terms of implicit £1bn.

Evelyn is owned by the backstage equity firms Permira and Warburg Pincus, having merged their respective firms Tilney and Smith & Williamson successful 2020.

Last year, Evelyn's nonrecreational services limb was sold to the buyout steadfast Apax Partners.

The existent auction is being handled by bankers astatine Evercore.

Barclays and NatWest declined to comment.