A COLLEGE dropout from Launceston has hit the big time with the sale of a marketing company as part of a €18.5-million deal.

The inbound marketing agency ‘Clickverta’ has announced it is being bought by digital agency ‘The Marketing Group’. The company is now listed on Nasdaq First North stock market in Sweden as a result.

It was bought as one of four subsidiaries of parent company Ulysses for a total value of €18.5-million (£15.5-million).

The company CEO, who was instrumental in this deal is James Downton, a 27-year-old from Launceston whose family own a local dry cleaners ‘Downton’s Dry Cleaning’.

The marketing group executive chairman Jeremy Harbour said that the company’s recent purchase marked a major step forward, he said: “I am delighted to welcome the new members to the group. It represents a major step forward in both size and geography. They’re all delivering strong profits, they’ve got really good key people on board, and they meet all of our criteria.”

Clickverta is an award winning international performance marketing agency specialising in inbound marketing, conversion rate optimisation, and large e-commerce.

Founded in 2014, it delivers a full-service design, build, and campaign optimisation service to businesses across the UK, USA, Russia, and both the Baltics, and Nordics.

The company serves a global market and works predominantly with large B2C E-commerce businesses and funded B2B SaaS companies to create fast company growth through digital sales.

James Downton said the recent deal has been an endorsement of the ‘high-impact’ work his team has done and produced everyday to help drive the new business for its clients.

Mr Downton said: “The marketing industry is a hugely competitive space to be involved in each day, and the fact that we’ve been able to stand out and be part of a deal this size is a true endorsement of the passionate team we have working in the company.”

He added that the acquisition means the company is now able to expand into other countries. “It will allow us to do business with our other partners and grow our presence in other countries like Singapore as well as further bolstering our efforts in the USA.“