By Simon Hunt
Copyright cityam
Natwest is gearing up to sell pension provider Cushon just two years after it first acquired the business.
The bank has lined up advisers to help work on a sale of the London fintech and is already in talks with a number of potential suitors, according to a report by Sky News.
Natwest acquired an 85 per cent stake in the firm in 2023 for £144, with the remaining 15 per cent stake controlled by the fintech’s management.
Since then, the business has grown to become a major workplace pensions, savings and financial wellbeing provider, serving more than 650,000 members across 21,000 employers.
At the time of the acquisition, then-CEO Alison Rose said the deal meant the bank was “equipping ourselves with the tools to develop a proposition which responds to our customers’ changing needs whilst delivering value-driven sustainable growth and returns.”
But under Rose’s successor Paul Thwaite, there has been a change of tack, with the bank simplifying its operations, driving disciplined growth and focusing primarily on large-scale acquisitions, such as weighing a bid to buy the UK operations of Santander.
The bank is also anticipating consolidation in the pensions sector, following the government’s reforms to the sector in a bid to drive scale.
A Natwest spokesperson said: “We do not comment on speculation.
“Our focus remains on delivering for our customers.”
Dealmaking activity surges
The move comes amid a frenzy of dealmaking in the European banking sector, with more than 50 M&A deals across the sector in the 12 months to 30 June 2025, according to data compiled by law firm White & Case, after the top 20 European banks built up a war cgest if as much as $600bn in excess capital.
A key driver of the activity is thought to be the availability of high-quality targets as banks offloaded more than 40 sizeable non-core subsidiaries over the course of the year.
White & Case partner Hyder Jumabhoy said: “Consolidation fever has swept through the market over the past year with banks buoyed by their freedom from government ownership and healthy M&A war chests.
“Finally, the flood gates of European bank public M&A are open, accompanied by a flurry of private M&A. The next twelve months will be anything but dull.”
