Aim Bulletin
Public Policy Holding Company expands MultiState with fresh talent acquisition
By Josh White
Date: Friday 01 May 2026
(Sharecast News) - Public Policy Holding Company said on Friday that its MultiState Associates subsidiary had expanded its stakeholder engagement capabilities through the hiring of Lee Cowen and Nicholas Evans, alongside the acquisition of assets from their respective management companies.
The AIM-traded strategic communications group said MultiState, which provides state-level government relations services, had hired Cowen and Evans through the acquisition of assets from Cowen Consulting and Putnam Strategies.
PPHC said the additions would significantly expand MultiState's stakeholder engagement practice, which works with political organisations including governors' associations, attorney general groups and other state-level political and policy organisations.
The company said MultiState had established the practice over the past three years under the leadership of Maggie Mick, previously chief advancement officer at the Council of State Governments.
It said the hiring of Cowen and Evans would accelerate growth and strengthen MultiState's ability to serve large clients requiring sophisticated multistate strategies.
PPHC said Cowen and Evans brought an established client roster of major national companies and organisations, as well as longstanding relationships in state government affairs.
It said those clients were strong candidates for MultiState's broader services, including issue management and lobbying compliance.
As part of the initial consideration, PPHC issued 21,996 new common shares to the sellers.
The shares were expected to be admitted to trading on AIM on or around 7 May and would rank equally with the company's existing common shares.
Following admission, PPHC's issued and voting share capital will consist of 29,350,077 common shares.
Chief executive Stewart Hall said MultiState had built "something unique and distinctive" in the state government affairs market.
"MultiState has built something unique and distinctive in the state government affairs market, and stakeholder engagement is a natural extension of that offering," he said.
"Lee and Nicholas are highly experienced and well-regarded professionals with strong client relationships, and we see real opportunity to offer those clients the full breadth of MultiState's and PPHC's capabilities."
Joe Crosby, chief executive of MultiState Associates, said Cowen and Evans would accelerate the growth of the stakeholder engagement practice.
"Lee and Nicholas are exactly the kind of people anyone would want on their team," Crosby said.
"They have been incredibly successful on their own yet recognize the additional value we collectively will bring to our clients."
Cowen said he and Evans were "thrilled" to be joining MultiState and PPHC.
"With increased focus on the state policy front, we became convinced that a more comprehensive suite of services - such as issues management, compliance, research, etc. - is necessary for businesses and associations as they work with state governments to achieve their policy goals," he said.
"For Nicholas and me, MultiState was the obvious choice when looking for the right teammates."
At 0844 BST, shares in Public Policy Holding Company were up 0.9% at 1,004p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
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