Barclays explores bid for British wealth manager Evelyn, sources say

(Corrects spelling of first name of Barclays executive in paragraph 8)

By Amy-Jo Crowley and Charlie Conchie

London, Dec 5 - Barclays has been exploring a potential acquisition of Evelyn Partners, one of Britain's largest wealth managers, and is expected to place a bid next week, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Evelyn's private equity shareholders Permira and Warburg Pincus have asked prospective buyers to submit non-binding offers on December 10, two of the people said. They kicked off a sale of Evelyn earlier this year, which could value the wealth manager at more than 2.5 billion pounds ($3.3 billion), Reuters reported in July.

The sale has also drawn interest from NatWest Group and Lloyds, two of the people said. Royal Bank of Canada has also been weighing an offer for Evelyn, a fourth person familiar with the matter added. 

The sources, who requested anonymity because the matter is private, said there was no certainty a transaction would materialise or that Barclays and others would present offers.

Barclays, NatWest, Lloyds and RBC declined to comment. Permira and Warburg Pincus also declined to comment.

For Barclays, Evelyn would expand its wealth management capabilities into the mass-affluent sector, a tier below the wealthiest clients, which larger British banks have increasingly targeted in recent years as they try to grow fee-based income to compensate for falling lending income as interest rates fell.

Barclays said in its third-quarter earnings statement that assets under management at its private bank and wealth management business rose by nearly 4% from the previous quarter.

"For Barclays, one of the biggest longer-term opportunities lies in the affluent segment," Sasha Wiggins, Barclays's CEO of Private Bank and Wealth Management, said in December 2024.

Permira has owned Evelyn Partners, formerly known as Tilney Smith & Williamson, since 2014, funding its growth into a wealth manager 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 rest of the shares are held by current and former staff. 

($1 = 0.7492 pounds)

(Reporting by Amy-Jo Crowley and Charlie Conchie in London. Additional reporting Lawrence White. Editing by Anousha Sakoui and Mark Potter)