Linklaters, Macfarlanes and Slaughter and May have picked up the lead roles on the £2.7bn sale of wealth manager Evelyn Partners to NatWest.
Slaughters is acting as lead counsel to NatWest, which is acquiring the business from Permira and Warburg Pincus.
Linklaters is advising Permira and Warburg Pincus, while a team at Macfarlanes is acting for longstanding client Evelyn.
Permira’s interest in Evelyn dates back to its 2014 acquisition of the regional businesses of wealth manager Tilney, which merged with Smith & Williamson in 2020 – when Warburg Pincus became a minority investor – before rebranding as Evelyn in 2022.
The acquisition by NatWest will create one of the UK’s leading private banking and wealth management businesses, combining Evelyn’s £69bn of assets under management with NatWest’s £59bn.
The Slaughters team advising NatWest included partners and associates across its corporate, financial regulation, tax, pensions, employment and incentives, competition, tech, data and IP and financing groups.
Key partners included corporate trio David Watkins, Nick Pacheco and Tom Peacock, alongside financial regulation head Jan Putnis and tax partner Dominic Robertson, a Legal 500 leading partner for corporate tax and tax litigation.
The Linklaters team advising Permira and Warburg Pincus was led by Legal 500 Hall of Famer Alex Woodward and corporate partner Chris Boycott, working with employment and incentives partner Bradley Richardson, tax partner Jamie Coomber, and Brussels-based global antitrust partner Neil Hoolihan.
The role for Linklaters comes after the firm advised Permira, Blackstone and portfolio company Adevinta on the sale of its Spanish business to EQT in mid-2025, while in 2024, Woodward led for Warburg Pincus on its £520m acquisition of a majority stake in United Trust Bank.
The team at Macfarlanes is being led by M&A partner Tom Rose, working alongside tax partner Jeremy Moncrieff, head of the rewards practice Robert Collard, pensions partner Faye Jarvis and commercial partner Rosie Duckworth.
Rose also led the firm’s team advising Evelyn in 2024 when it sold its professional services business – which was rebranded as S&W – to Apax Partners.
