34 | February 2024
INTERVIEW
Rapid growth expected to double revenue figures Daniel Dickson explains his chartered accountancy background, professional journey to his role of OCS chief executive officer and plans to further enhance the company’s bright future
O
ne of the most notable areas of activity within the FM industry is that of mergers and acquisitions (M&A), with deals of all types and sizes announced regularly throughout the year. M&A is also attributed with introducing OCS UK and Ireland Chief Executive Officer Daniel Dickson to the industry, following his attainment of chartered accountancy status. Speaking exclusively to FM Director during Apprenticeship Week, he refers to the relevance of M&A to his journey, having joined an accountancy firm in 2003 at the age of 18 as opposed to attending university. After achieving his chartered accountant status at the age of 21, he then joined his employer’s M&A team. “I thought M&A sounded a little more interesting than auditing,” he recalls with a smile, “and one of my clients was Servest, which at the time was a £20m revenue cleaning business.” Having assisted the company with the purchase of another cleaning company in 2008, the effects of the financial crisis at the time saw a dramatic reduction in M&A activity, resulting in Mr Dickson providing businesses with constructive turnaround advice to help them deal with the recession. The Servest progression continued, however, leading to another acquisition in 2011 and expanding the business to an organisation with a revenue of circa £40m.
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