diff --git a/etc/ubuntu/init.d/maxscale.in b/etc/ubuntu/init.d/maxscale.in
index 269f88638..0ad5b53c4 100755
--- a/etc/ubuntu/init.d/maxscale.in
+++ b/etc/ubuntu/init.d/maxscale.in
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ RETVAL=0
 
 start() {
         log_daemon_msg "Starting MaxScale"
-        start_daemon -p $MAXSCALE_PIDFILE $DAEMON 2> /dev/null
+        nohup start_daemon -p $MAXSCALE_PIDFILE $DAEMON 2> /dev/null &
 
         sleep 2