Former Blueberry Wave chief executive Nick Dixon has unveiled his latest venture, just days after stepping down from his role at the customer engagement business, with the launch of a new investment company Salocin Capital.
Dixon, who has worked in the DM industry for over 35 years, first joined Blueberry Wave in December 2016 after his investment firm Veriteva bought a majority stake in Cirencester-based data company.
Having overseen a major expansion programme, Dixon struck a deal with HH Global in February last year which saw the marketing execution giant buy a majority stake in Veriteva and Blueberry Wave.
However, earlier this month Dixon quit the business.
Last week he wrote on LinkedIn: “I have really enjoyed working alongside the Blueberries for just under four years and also my colleagues at HH Global for the past 20 months. Both businesses complement one another and with HH Global’s recent acquisition of Inner Workings (a company nearly twice their size) both businesses are no doubt destined for greater things to come.”
Now, with the launch of Salocin Capital, Dixon is once again seeking new deals, including investment opportunities in the customer engagement, media, data, CRM, content and technology sectors.
It is an industry that Dixon is all too familiar with, and although his background is in print and print management, he also has experience of a range of different businesses involved in database marketing, insight and analytics, online marketing, and creative services.
Dixon’s first successful investment dates back to 1992, when, along with four others, including his then business partner Rick Taylor, he acquired the main assets of print group Colorgraphic, which had fallen into administration.
The team restructured the business and returned it to profitability within eight months. They subsequently led an MBO, with private equity funding, and continued to build the business culminating in the sale to Big Flower Inc in 2000.
Then in 2004 Dixon and Taylor acquired the trade and assets of Howitt, which had also fallen into administration. They returned the firm to profit after six months and then grew the business, both organically and through acquisition, into a marketing services and graphic communication group which became Lateral Group in 2008.
Further growth saw the company hit £52m in revenue, and it was acquired by DST Systems Inc in 2011. Dixon and Taylor both remained with the business to assist in the integration of the group into DST’s other UK businesses, with Dixon finally stepping down in 2012.
Veriteva was launched in 2014 and by then he had caught the data bug. In an interview with Decision Marketing while still at Blueberry Wave, Dixon said: “In an increasingly results-focused marketplace, it is a ‘hygiene’ factor for marketing to be measured and ROI scrutinised, and as the ethics and law around personal data change, the very lifeblood to continue trading for some companies means that data is only going to become more and more important in the marketing and business mix.”
Related stories
Nick Dixon quits Blueberry Wave for the next big deal
HH Global swallows US giant to boost expansion plans
Huw Davis joins Blueberry Wave to lead Asia business
Blueberry Wave expands with offices in the US and Asia
Dixon seals deal to secure Blueberry Wave expansion
Blueberry Wave brings in Mattey as operations chief
Nick Dixon buyout group swoops on Blueberry Wave
Nick ‘tricky’ Dixon unveils buyout firm
Nick Dixon to stand down at DST