NatWest Sells HR Firm Mentor to Empowering People Group

FTSE 100 bank, NatWest, has announced that it will be selling its human resources advisory business, Mentor.

The deal was made with Empowering People Group, a private equity-backed business, as part of a broader strategy to concentrate on its primary banking and wealth management activities.

The commercial and retail bank will now be offloading its human resources advisory division to streamline its operations.

On a LinkedIn post, NatWest Mentor said: “We are excited to announce that NatWest Mentor will be joining Empowering People Group (EPG). By moving to a specialist HR powerhouse, we are gaining the agility and industry-specific focus needed to solve today’s most complex people challenges.”

How Mentor works to serve people

Originally founded in 1997, Mentor was launched to deliver employment law, health and safety, and environmental consultancy services to small and medium-sized enterprises. While Mentor was a long-standing service, it played a pivotal role in NatWest’s support for SMEs during the Covid-19 pandemic, providing critical health, safety, and furlough advice. 

The transition marks a significant shift in the SME consultancy landscape. The immediate impact on its 100,000 UK customers is expected to be limited, with NatWest maintaining access through a referral partnership. By establishing a formal referral partnership, NatWest ensures that its commercial mid-market and business banking clients retain access to these specialised services.

The strategic partnership between the two organisations will ensure that as many businesses as possible benefit from Mentor’s products and services.

“For more than 20 years, the Empowering People Group has built a strong reputation as a trusted HR partner to large and complex organisations, helping them manage risk, strengthen performance and support their people with confidence,” Rena Christou, Group CEO of the Empowering People Group, said.

“Mentor is a natural and complementary fit – with aligned values, proven track records and a shared commitment to high standards.”

As part of the deal, Mentor’s 220 advisory workforce is expected to transfer to the new owner upon completion of the transaction. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

NatWest’s plans to restructure 

NatWest’s boss, Paul Thwaite, has made a number of strategic moves to reorganise the business’s structure.  

In February 2026, the bank agreed to buy one of Britain's largest wealth managers, Evelyn Partners, for $2.7bn, including debt, as a means of expanding its wealth management business.

Last year, the bank also sold its workplace pensions fintech, Cushon, to Willis Towers Watson, reflecting Thwaite’s focus on shifting the balance sheet toward more stable, recurring income streams such as wealth management.

Supporting these moves, Robert Begbie, commercial and institutional Chief Executive at NatWest, said: “This sale marks an important step in our strategy to simplify and focus on what matters most to our customers and colleagues.”

For Thwaite, the acquisition of Evelyn Partners helped to create the group’s “third growth engine.” The firm’s £69bn assets under management pushed NatWest’s total wealth management holdings to £127bn, making it one of the largest in the UK.

Although the announcement did make waves in the market, NatWest paused future share buybacks and revealed plans to spend £150m on integration costs. This may potentially be more if the process proves complex – aimed at delivering around £100m in annual cost savings.