Mark Dixon (businessman) explained

Mark Dixon
Birth Name:Mark Leslie James Dixon
Birth Date:2 November 1959
Birth Place:Essex, England
Education:Rainsford High School
Occupation:Businessman
Known For:Founder, Regus
Children:5

Mark Leslie James Dixon (born 2 November 1959) is a Monaco-based English billionaire businessman, best known as the founder of serviced office business Regus, renamed International Workplace group (IWG plc) in 2016.[1]

Early life

Dixon was born on 2 November 1959.[2] The son of a car mechanic, he was educated at Rainsford High School, Essex, England. On noticing that a new housing estate needed nourishment for its gardens, he sold peat distributed by wheelbarrow.[3]

Career

After leaving school at 16, Dixon founded a sandwich making business, Dial-a-Snack, which delivered locally on a butcher's bicycle. After the business failed, he travelled the world, becoming a barman in St Tropez, a miner in Australia, a farmhand in Asia; and selling encyclopedias.[3]

Returning to Essex, he invested £600 in a burger van, based on London's North Circular road.[3] From profits he then bought seven other vans, but found difficulty in obtaining good and regular bun supply.[3] He set up The Bread Roll Company to supply his own and other mobile fast food vendors, which he sold in 1988 for £800,000.[4]

Relocating to Brussels, Belgium, he set up an apartment rental business. While sitting in a café, he regularly noticed how local business people were conducting meetings around the small tables of local coffee shops. He started Regus, an office space business, in 1989.[5] By mid-2001 the business was worth £2 billion, with Dixon's 60 percent stake making him a billionaire.[4] However, after the failure of the dot.com boom, Dixon's stake fell and he was valued at less than £80m.

In 2002, 58% of the UK arm of the business was sold to UK private equity firm Alchemy Partners.[6] Regus bought the stake back three years later.[7] Dixon has since rebuilt the business and expanded internationally. The company now has a presence in over 100 countries.[8] Dixon remains the company's chief executive.

Dixon owns the Chateau de Berne vineyard in Provence which includes a five-star hotel and restaurant.[9] The vineyard produces around 5 million bottles of wine a year, making it the second-largest producer in Provence.[10] In 2017, Dixon bought the 150-acre Kingscote Estate in East Grinstead, West Sussex to expand production to the United Kingdom.[11]

According to The Sunday Times Rich List in 2021, his net worth was estimated at £1.437 billion.[12]

Personal life

Dixon married journalist Trudy Groves in 1988; they divorced in 2005, with a £28.7m settlement.[4]

Dixon is a resident of Monaco for tax reasons. He voluntarily pays tax in the United Kingdom.

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Howard. Tom. Serviced offices provider IWG considers three-way split. . en. 2021-11-24. 0140-0460.
  2. Web site: Shah . Oliver . 6 October 2019 . Interview: I won't be celebrating WeWork's woes, says IWG boss Mark Dixon . The Sunday Times . subscription . https://archive.today/20211022042933/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/interview-i-wont-be-celebrating-weworks-woes-says-iwg-boss-mark-dixon-8mvbvw5fw . 22 October 2021 . live.
  3. News: Mark Dixon, CEO of Regus: A true entrepreneur back on the expansion trail. The Independent. 17 July 2004. 25 April 2009 . London . Andrew . Cave.
  4. News: Mark Dixon: the Briton who wants to build a new Google. The Telegraph. 25 April 2009. 25 April 2009 . London . Andrew . Cave.
  5. Web site: Regus > Office Space Rentals, Meeting Rooms, Training Rooms, Video conferencing, Network Access, Virtual Offices, Executive Suites . 2009-04-26 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20081219034955/http://www.regus.com/switch/www/aboutus/default.htm . 19 December 2008 .
  6. News: Regus sells off crown jewels to stay alive. Simon. Bowers. The Guardian . 21 December 2002. www.theguardian.com.
  7. Web site: Alchemy sells back Regus UK holding. Robert. Venes. 12 January 2013.
  8. Web site: Rent Office Space and Virtual Offices in 900 cities worldwide | Regus Saudi Arabia . En.saudiarabia.regus.com . 26 January 2017.
  9. Web site: Visiting Chateau de Berne, Provence, and an interview with consultant Hubert de Bouard. wineanorak.com.
  10. Web site: South of England is 'new frontier' of wine, billionaire claims. 13 June 2017 .
  11. Web site: Billionaire Mark Dixon opens 'new frontier' in English wine. 12 June 2017. Evening Standard.
  12. Web site: The Sunday Times Rich List 2021. 2021-11-24. www.thetimes.co.uk. en.