Bully Pulpit International Buys Seven Hills In UK Expansion

(MENAFN- PRovoke) LONDON - Bully Pulpit International (BPI) has significantly expanded its presence in the UK, with the dual Acquisition of strategic communications agency Seven Hills and research group Message House for an undisclosed sum.

The deals follow BPI's acquisition of European public affairs and strategic communications firm Boldt at the end of last year, and further signals the firm's ambitions in Europe.

After the acquisition, Seven Hills will rebrand as Seven Hills BPI, while Boldt will rebrand across Europe as Boldt BPI, operating as complementary brands working in the same offices. Message House will join BPI's insights team, creating an integrated policymaker and research offering across the US, Europe and beyond, and will transition to the BPI brand early next year.

BPI is now made up of more than 325 communications, creative, measurement and media professionals across six countries and 12 offices, with total revenue of close to $100 million. With the addition of Seven Hills and Message House, London is now the agency's second-largest location after Washington, DC, with a team of 70.

Andrew Bleeker, BPI president, told PRovoke Media that businesses and organisations were“desperate for transatlantic partners that can pair global experience with local expertise”. He said:“We're on a journey that started a year ago when we bought Boldt into BPI. None of the big issues, – AI, privacy, the green transition, national security – stop at a national border, and our clients need integrated partners who can think and do at the strategic level.

“There are a lot of folks in the advisory business and a lot of folks in the execution business, but these four firms together bring a campaign mentality that can help clients who are asking us to solve their problems. All of us have a bit of political DNA – Boldt especially in the EU and Brussels – and now we're able to double down in the UK. This make us extremely credible right out of the gate with the Seven Hills crew, and adding insights and data across the group. We want to be the first phone call for the biggest changemakers in the world, and we're just getting started.”

At Seven Hills, chair and co-founder Michael Hayman told PRovoke Media:“When we set up 15 years ago, our ambition from the get go was to be Britain's campaigning company. We've taken the business to a great place as a corporate commuications agency, but with this deal we now have so much more fire power in London; with Message House's data and research, and Boldt's public affairs capability, we are preparing the agency for the world of tomorrow.

“We've always been proud of working with mission-led businesses, and that idea of working with changemakers is a shared approach between us all.
We all know each other, we share values, we're all entrepreneurs, and we are confident in each other's capabilities. This isn't a status quo play, it's about disruption.”

At Message House, Matt Carter – a former UK CEO of Burson-Marsteller, who was also general secretary of the Labour Party – added:“This is a great development, and I'm thrilled to be part of BPI. It starts with client need, and us all being able to better support clients, especially hard-to-reach, elite audiences in the UK, Europe, EMEA and the US. It feels like BPI is just getting started. It's already powerful and influential, but there is room for growth and development.”

BPI's European leader and Boldt managing partner Jeremy Galbraith told PRovoke Media that the firm had already picked up three major European clients since the deal last year, and the two new acquisitions meant that the firm could“really grow in London”. He said he had known Hayman for 30 years – they both worked for the same MP before joining BursonMarsteller –“so this will be easy. We all get it.”

Galbraith said the firm had other geographies firmly in its sights for 2025:“Our next two ports of call will be Germany and France, and we'll add from there. Poland will probably be pretty quick after that – it's now coming of age as a key place for communications.”

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