Natwest: Pensions fintech bought by bank in £144m deal which will ‘shake up savings’
Natwest is to buy pensions fintech Cushon for £144m in a move the bank says will bolster its offerings of “financial wellbeing” products.
The FTSE 100 lender said it would take an 85 per cent stake in the London-based fintech while the company’s existing management would retain the remaining 15 per cent.
The chief of Natwest’s wealth business Peter Flavel said Cushon’s “disruptive proposition” would support customers as they “saved for the future and managed their financial wellbeing”.
He aidded: “On average, UK employees are due to outlive their savings by 10 years and we are committed to helping reduce this savings gap.”
“We believe Cushon’s engaging, app-first pension will help customers by moving their pension and workplace savings schemes from a compliance burden to an employee benefit.”
The deal is now set for regulatory approvals but is expected to complete in the next 12 months, according to Augmentum fintech, a shareholder that has now offloaded its stake to Natwest for £22.8m.
Cushion currently has around 500,000 customers and manages around £1.8bn in assets for savers. The firm’s chief Ben Pollard told City PM last year that its aim was to shake up the “boring” pensions market.
In a statement today, he said the deal marked the “next exciting chapter” for the firm as it joined forces with “a great British bank”.
“Becoming part of NatWest Group will accelerate our plans for further technology-led innovation to improve the UK’s financial wellbeing,” he added. “Together, we look forward to driving more positive change in workplace savings and pensions.”