London, March 5, 2026, 09:29 GMT
- NatWest-owned Royal Bank of Scotland is looking to grow its Accelerator programme, aiming to back 5,000 entrepreneurs across Scotland this year
- Bank is pledging £1 million to the Scottish EDGE Awards across three years, with a £200,000 Scale EDGE prize included in that commitment.
- NatWest picked up another 458,962 shares for its ongoing buyback on March 4
Royal Bank of Scotland, part of NatWest Group, is ramping up its Accelerator programme, aiming to reach 5,000 Scottish entrepreneurs this year. The push comes before the bank’s new Edinburgh hub, due to open in 2026. Royal Bank is also committing 1 million pounds to the Scottish EDGE Awards over three years, with 200,000 pounds earmarked for the Scale EDGE prize. “In our tenth anniversary year, we are going to turbocharge our support for Scotland’s entrepreneurs,” said Darren Pirie, head of accelerator and partnerships at the bank. Workplace Journal
UK banks are looking to land and keep smaller business clients, focusing on more than just offering cheaper loan rates. Getting in front of founders early can pave the way for stickier ties — accounts, payments, maybe credit down the line — though the payoff doesn’t always arrive right away in the numbers.
Scotland remains central territory for NatWest’s Royal Bank brand, with plenty of business density and scale left. The pitch for its accelerator is straightforward: offer hands-on support immediately, hoping to be the go-to banker when those companies scale up and start looking for funding and guidance.
Royal Bank says its accelerator is free, offering startups coaching, networking, and in-house expertise. The bank’s app, rolled out in Scotland in March 2025, has surpassed 1,500 downloads. Glasgow and Edinburgh hubs now back 1,000 businesses, while community firms have delivered over 900 jobs. Scottish EDGE-backed companies since 2014 have added more than 4,400 jobs and driven nearly 800 million pounds in turnover. Calling the fresh 1 million-pound commitment “a significant vote of confidence,” Scottish EDGE chief executive Evelyn McDonald pointed to the finals for the current round on June 11 in Edinburgh. NatWest Group
NatWest disclosed it repurchased 458,962 shares on March 4, working through UBS, and paid prices ranging from 584.0 pence up to 597.8 pence. According to the lender, UBS handled the trades following instructions set on Feb. 16, making purchases both on the London Stock Exchange and other venues. The bank intends to cancel these shares. Once the transaction settles, NatWest will hold 217,719,076 shares in treasury, with 7,973,404,761 shares outstanding, not counting treasury stock.
When a company buys back its own stock, it’s usually handing cash back to investors while cutting down the total share count used to split up profits. Treasury shares — those the firm keeps on its own books — generally don’t come with voting rights or dividends attached.
Back in February, NatWest posted a 24% rise in 2025 pretax profit, hitting 7.7 billion pounds, and lifted its return-on-tangible-equity goal to above 18% by 2028. The bank also rolled out a 750 million-pound share buyback, set for the first half of 2026.
NatWest has struck a deal to acquire Evelyn Partners for 2.7 billion pounds, debt included, stepping up its push into the crowded fee-based wealth management space. According to Reuters, the bank is chasing rivals like HSBC and Lloyds, which have already bulked up in wealth services, while Evelyn’s sale attracted bids from Barclays and Royal Bank of Canada. Benjamin Toms at RBC Capital Markets called the transaction “transformational”—not just a bolt-on, he said, but a move that fills a major gap in NatWest’s affluent wealth business. Reuters
Even so, pinning down the value of the Scotland initiative isn’t straightforward—a free desk and some pointers hardly lock in loyalty, nor do they ensure NatWest will land solid borrowers. Buybacks remain in play, but there’s a catch: a shaky economy, or trouble folding in Evelyn, and the bank could see its capital and profits squeezed just when it needs them most.
