Mark Leslie James Dixon (born 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]
Mark Dixon | |
|---|---|
| Born | Mark Leslie James Dixon November 1959 (age 64) Essex, England |
| Education | Rainsford High School |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Known for | Founder, Regus |
| Spouse |
Trudi Groves
(m. 1988; div. 2005) |
| Children | 5 |
Early life edit
Dixon was born in November 1959. 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.[2]
Career edit
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.[2][3]
Returning to Essex, he invested £600 in a burger van, based on London's North Circular road.[2] From profits he then bought seven other vans, but found difficulty in obtaining good and regular bun supply.[2] 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.[3]
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.[4] By mid-2001 the business was worth £2 billion, with Dixon's 60 percent stake making him a billionaire.[3] 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.[3][5] Regus bought the stake back three years later.[6] Dixon has since rebuilt the business and expanded internationally. The company now has a presence in over 100 countries.[7] Dixon remains the company's chief executive.[1]
Dixon owns the Chateau de Berne vineyard in Provence which includes a five-star hotel and restaurant.[8] The vineyard produces around 5 million bottles of wine a year, making it the second-largest producer in Provence.[9] In 2017, Dixon bought the 150-acre Kingscote Estate in East Grinstead, West Sussex to expand production to the United Kingdom.[10]
According to The Sunday Times Rich List in 2021, his net worth was estimated at £1.437 billion.[11]
Personal life edit
Dixon married journalist Trudy Groves in 1988; they divorced in 2005, with a £28.7m settlement.[3]
Dixon is a resident of Monaco for tax reasons.[3] He voluntarily pays tax in the United Kingdom.[12]
References edit
- ^ a b Howard, Tom. "Serviced offices provider IWG considers three-way split". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
- ^ a b c d Cave, Andrew (17 July 2004). "Mark Dixon, CEO of Regus: A true entrepreneur back on the expansion trail". The Independent. London. Retrieved 25 April 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f Cave, Andrew (25 April 2009). "Mark Dixon: the Briton who wants to build a new Google". London: The Telegraph. Retrieved 25 April 2009.
- ^ "Regus > Office Space Rentals, Meeting Rooms, Training Rooms, Video conferencing, Network Access, Virtual Offices, Executive Suites". Archived from the original on 19 December 2008. Retrieved 26 April 2009.
- ^ Bowers, Simon (21 December 2002). "Regus sells off crown jewels to stay alive". The Guardian – via www.theguardian.com.
- ^ Venes, Robert (12 January 2013). "Alchemy sells back Regus UK holding".
- ^ "Rent Office Space and Virtual Offices in 900 cities worldwide | Regus Saudi Arabia". En.saudiarabia.regus.com. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
- ^ "Visiting Chateau de Berne, Provence, and an interview with consultant Hubert de Bouard". wineanorak.com.
- ^ "South of England is 'new frontier' of wine, billionaire claims". 13 June 2017.
- ^ "Billionaire Mark Dixon opens 'new frontier' in English wine". Evening Standard. 12 June 2017.
- ^ "The Sunday Times Rich List 2021". www.thetimes.co.uk. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
- ^ Shah, Oliver (6 October 2019). "Interview: I won't be celebrating WeWork's woes, says IWG boss Mark Dixon" – via www.thetimes.co.uk.