FluidOne Ltd has announced the appointment of Graham Dickie as its new Chief Financial Officer. He takes over the role from Roy Hastings, who left the company in September 2024. Dickie brings over 20 years of financial leadership experience and has held CFO roles since 2006. He will report to CEO Russell Horton and will help drive the company’s strategic financial planning and operations.
Horton led the MBO of FluidOne in 2019, backed by an investment from Livingbridge. Since then the company has grown to become a leading provider of connected cloud solutions to UK businesses. The company has quadrupled in size and now has £113 million in revenues. Horton has ambitious plans. Backed by a refinancing agreement with Pemberton, the company expects to treble in size over the next five years.
That growth has already started with the acquisition of Orca IT Ltd, a UK-based Managed Services Provider. The firm has evolved from a communications and connectivity services provider to one that offers broader IT and cybersecurity services. Over 50% of its revenues are now IT and cybersecurity and its recurring revenues now make up 70%. Dickie comes into the firm at the start of another chapter of growth.
Russell Horton, FluidOne CEO, commented, “I am delighted to welcome Graham to FluidOne and am very much looking forward to collaborating with him in realising our 2030 vision. Our already talented team is considerably stronger with Graham on board. He brings unparalleled financial experience in buy and build strategies, combined with an immediate cultural fit, making him the ideal person to take us to the next level.”
Who is Graham Dickie?
Dickie has over 20 years of extensive experience in driving change in both high-growth private equity-backed and multi-billion dollar listed global organizations. Most recently, he was CFO of Flying Colours Corp, a Flexjet company. He also served as CFO of Dominion Colour Corporation, QM Environmental and TWMA. His first role as CFO was for the LIT Division of WoodGroup. He also worked at Corbis Schlumberger and began his career as an auditor at PwC.
The appointment at FluidOne sees him return to the UK after a decade in Canada. He brings experience in raising finance, improving profitability, and commercially supporting sales teams with pricing strategies. An experienced leader, he brings knowledge in large-scale restructuring and refinancing projects. He is used to working with private equity backers and it will be interesting to see what changes he introduces to the business as Horton targets growth.
That growth is aiming to achieve £300 million in turnover by 2030. Graham Dickie said, It’s exciting to be joining FluidOne at such a transformative time in their journey; I’m looking forward to further establishing the business as an industry leader within IT, cyber and communications solutions.”
In becoming CFO, Graham joins the group board alongside CEO Russell Horton and CIO Chris Rogers to support them in developing and actioning FluidOne’s ambitious growth strategy.
Enterprise Times: What does this mean?
In Dickie, Horton has found an experienced CFO with international experience that should support the growth he is aiming to achieve with FluidOne. The company is growing rapidly with an acquisition and refinancing recently completed. It will be interesting to see what 2025 will bring. No doubt there will be more acquisitions as FluidOne looks to expand its footprint.
Currently, the firm has eight offices in the UK. Could Horton leverage Dickies experience to branch out internationally? Or will it cement its position in the UK mid-market? Currently most of its offices are in the South of England, the exception being Sheffield, so there is room to grow North.
