Ex-chancellor expected to shift to part-time at Evercore after London boutique’s sale; most proceeds go to founding partners

Evercore’s agreed purchase of Robey Warshaw, the Mayfair advisory boutique where former UK chancellor George Osborne has worked since 2021, is reshaping one of the City’s most‑watched banking careers — but not in the way some expected. People familiar with the transaction say Osborne will not be among the biggest beneficiaries of the sale and is instead preparing to shift into a part‑time capacity once the deal completes.

The $196m (£146m) takeover, announced in late July, is structured in two main tranches with a performance‑linked earn‑out. The first portion — about $96m — will be paid in Evercore shares at closing. A second payment of roughly $100m is due on the one‑year anniversary in cash or stock, and additional consideration could follow over a multi‑year period if milestones are met. Most of the proceeds are earmarked for Robey Warshaw’s founding partners, led by Sir Simon Robey, reflecting the firm’s partnership structure and the premium investors place on the founders’ relationships.

Osborne, who joined Robey Warshaw as a partner after leaving frontline politics and later became chair of the British Museum, has been a visible figure on the boutique’s high‑profile mandates. He was part of teams advising on the sale of Chelsea Football Club and the protracted auction of Telegraph Media Group. But his ownership stake is small relative to the founders. People briefed on the plans say he is set to take a senior managing director title at Evercore while moving over time to a part‑time schedule that allows him to maintain other outside roles.

For the trio behind the firm — Simon Robey, Simon Warshaw and Philip Apostolides — the sale caps a rapid rise that began with Robey Warshaw’s launch in 2013. The boutique built its reputation by winning boardroom trust at blue‑chip multinationals and by delivering on complex, often contentious transactions. That client following is the central prize for Evercore as it deepens its push into the UK and looks to broaden its reach across EMEA.

The timing also speaks to shifting industry dynamics. After a muted 2023, dealmaking has revived this year in sectors from energy to telecoms, and U.S.‑listed advisers have been scouting for footholds in London to capture the next leg of activity. Evercore has been among the most active, arguing that a bigger platform in the City helps it compete for cross‑border mandates and activism defenses. The firm says the acquisition should be accretive to earnings in the first full year and will give it more than 400 bankers across nine countries in EMEA.

Inside Robey Warshaw, recent results highlighted both the opportunity and the limits of life as a small partnership. The firm reported record pre‑tax profits of about £70m and paid out a partner pool of around £30m, underscoring how lucrative the boutique model can be at the top end. Yet a narrow partnership base also concentrates financial rewards and execution risk. By selling now, the founders lock in value, secure a global distribution network and product breadth for their clients, and — through earn‑outs — keep a stake in the franchise’s future performance.

For Osborne personally, the path is more nuanced. His move into advisory work four years ago was polarising in Westminster but effective in the City, where his address book opened doors and his media profile kept Robey Warshaw in the headlines. A shift to part‑time suggests he will balance any Evercore responsibilities with existing roles — chairing the British Museum, co‑hosting the Political Currency podcast with former Labour chancellor Ed Balls, and advising the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase — while avoiding the optics of cashing in on a sale largely designed to reward the founders.

Evercore and Robey Warshaw both stress that clients will continue to receive personal attention from senior bankers — the hallmark of the boutique approach. The U.S. firm is betting that by grafting Robey Warshaw’s relationships onto its global platform, it can win more mandates without diluting that intimacy. In practical terms, that means keeping the existing teams in place in London, adding sector specialists and balance‑sheet solutions where appropriate, and using Evercore’s continental footprint to deepen coverage.

Valuation watchers note that the headline price is modest for a firm with Robey Warshaw’s profile — a reflection, perhaps, of how much of a boutique’s value resides in a handful of partners and their willingness to stay. The tranche structure and multi‑year earn‑outs underscore that logic: value will crystallise only if the rainmakers continue to deliver. For Evercore shareholders, that aligns incentives but also limits the potential for buyer’s remorse if markets cool. For the founders, it provides an exit route that still rewards performance.

There is also a political subtext. Osborne’s diminished sway inside the Conservative Party since the 2016 Brexit referendum — and the years he spent in media and think‑tank roles after leaving the Treasury — have made his City career more insulated from Westminster’s shifting winds. But any new title at Evercore will still be weighed against non‑bank commitments, not least the British Museum, which has been navigating sensitive leadership and restitution debates. Ensuring clean lines between those roles and a part‑time banking brief will be central to how his next chapter is perceived.

The deal is expected to close early in the fourth quarter, subject to customary approvals, with people in the market pointing to October. At completion, Evercore will make its first payment in stock, followed by a second tranche a year later. Beyond that, performance‑linked payouts could extend for several years depending on revenue thresholds and client retention. By the time the dust settles, the acquisition is likely to be remembered less for what it paid George Osborne and more for what it says about how the City’s most elite boutiques are choosing to plug into global platforms.

In the past decade, independent advisers have repeatedly shown they can out‑manoeuvre universal banks in boardroom contests — but they have also learned the limits of scale. The Evercore–Robey Warshaw tie‑up is a wager that you can have both: intimacy and heft. For Osborne, it marks a pivot to a different kind of influence. The big payday is going elsewhere. The rolodex, and the option to keep working the phones — albeit for fewer hours — remain.