By Amy-Jo Crowley and Charlie Conchie
LONDON (Reuters) -Private equity firms Permira and Warburg Pincus are exploring the possible sale of Evelyn Partners, one of the UK’s largest wealth managers, three sources with knowledge of the matter said.
The owners are working with advisers to prepare for a potential sale of the London-based business towards the end of the year, two of the people said. It could be valued at more than 2.5 billion pounds ($3.36 billion) in a sale, one of the people said.
A sale could draw interest from UK banks and private equity investors as well as Canadian and U.S. financial institutions, one of the sources and an industry specialist said.
The sources, who requested anonymity because the matter is private, cautioned that the discussions are at an early stage and that no deal is guaranteed.
Permira, Warburg Pincus and Evelyn declined to comment.
A sale of Evelyn would be the latest in a wave of deals across Europe’s wealth management industry as companies hunt for scale and investors look to tap into rising demand for personalised financial advice.
Across Europe, 113 asset and wealth management deals were struck in the first six months of 2025, up from 90 in the same period last year, according to data from EY. Deal value also rose to $2.7 billion this year, from $1.9 billion in the same period last year, the data shows.
Permira shifted its stake in Evelyn into a continuation fund in 2023, Reuters previously reported. The shareholders had reportedly the year prior considered a sale or initial public offering of the London-based company, but a transaction never materialised.
Since then Evelyn has been selling assets. In November 2024 it announced the sale of its accounting business to Apax Partners to refocus on wealth management. It also said it sold its fund solutions business to Thesis in January.
Evelyn generated adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of 174.3 million pounds in 2024, an increase of 11.8% from a year earlier, driven by net inflows and investment performance, according to its latest results in March.
Permira has owned Evelyn Partners, formerly known as Tilney Smith & Williamson, since 2014, funding its growth from a 5-billion-pound wealth manager to one overseeing 63 billion pounds in client assets. Warburg Pincus became a minority investor in 2020 to fund a merger between Tilney and accounting firm Smith & Williamson. The remainder of the shares are held by current and former staff.
Wealth management assets in North America are valued more highly than in the UK, where the pound is also cheaper than the dollar, handing potential U.S. bidders firepower to pay more, one of the three people said. In Europe, wealth managers trade at 15 to 17 times EBITDA compared to around 20 times EBITDA in North America, this person added.
U.S. companies have previously targeted the sector including Royal Bank of Canada, which bought Brewin Dolphin for 1.6 billion pounds in 2022. U.S. financial group Raymond James also struck a 279 million pound deal to take over wealth manager Charles Stanley in 2021.
($1 = 0.7444 pounds)
(Reporting by Amy-Jo Crowley and Charlie Conchie; Editing by Anousha Sakoui and Susan Fenton)
