The adviser firms private equity wants in 2026

'People-led durability is now the premium asset in 2026'

Laura Miller
clock • 7 min read

Private equity’s (PE) exit from Evelyn Partners – which last week announced it has been bought from backers Permira and Warburg Pincus by Natwest Group for £2.7bn – is a full circle moment for PE in UK wealth management. It’s also a lesson on where the PE money will focus in 2026, writes Laura Miller

Funds advised by Permira originally invested in Evelyn forerunner Bestinvest in 2014, before the private equity feeding frenzy started in earnest in 2019/20. Tilney, Towry and Smith & Williamson were bought over time. Warburg Pincus became a minority investor during the last acquisition in 2020.  Announcing its decade-in-the-making exit this week, Permira managing director Chris Pell said the 2014 investment represented a belief UK wealth management would "increasingly reward scale, advice-led models and institutional investment standards". To prove the point, under Permira assets under ...

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