Evelyn Partners, one of the United Kingdom’s largest wealth managers, is preparing for a sale that could value the business at about £2.5 billion, according to multiple reports.

The Times and the Financial Times reported this weekend that private equity owners Permira and Warburg Pincus have hired Evercore to run an auction expected to launch within months and to target potential buyers including NatWest, Royal Bank of Canada and US-based Raymond James.

The move marks a shift from earlier plans to float the company in London and comes as banks seek stable fee income from wealth management against a backdrop of tougher capital rules and volatile lending margins. Evelyn, which traces its history to Tilney’s founding in 1836, manages £63 billion of client assets and reported earnings before deductions of £174 million in 2024, an increase of 12 per cent.

NatWest has made no secret of its ambition to expand in wealth. Speaking at a Financial Times summit last year, group chief executive Paul Thwaite said recent transactions “have shown that we’re on the front foot and where we see interesting opportunities that deliver good financials, good strategic fit, then we’ll take them”. Even so, Thwaite added that any deal must clear “a very high bar both financially and operationally”.

Royal Bank of Canada is another likely contender after paying £1.6 billion for Brewin Dolphin in 2022. Dave McKay, the bank’s chief executive officer, told the Financial Times at the time that RBC would “look for opportunities to acquire other smaller players” once the Brewin integration was progressing.

A sale would give Permira an exit eleven years after it bought what was then Bestinvest and merged it with Tilney. Warburg Pincus joined the shareholder register in 2020 to finance the union with Smith & Williamson, after which the combined group rebranded as Evelyn Partners. The owners have already carved off non-core units, selling the professional services arm to Apax and disposing of a fund-administration business to streamline operations.

Industry analysts say consolidation is likely to accelerate as wealth managers seek scale to absorb rising compliance costs and invest in technology. Potential buyers must weigh the attractions of fee income against the dilutive impact of paying rich earnings multiples for growth.

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