Andrew Dixon

Andrew Dixon is a London-based investor and the founder of ARC InterCapital, a private investment firm he established in 2000–2001. He began his career outside finance, teaching English at a high school in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, through the Japanese government's JET Programme, before moving into corporate relations at the Institute for Development of Economic Analysis (IDEA) in London and Tokyo. He then spent time in finance at Société Générale (in Tokyo and Sydney) and rose to Vice President in the Precious Metals Division at Goldman Sachs, covering the Asian region.

Dixon holds a BA in International Politics from Aberystwyth University (1991) and an Executive MBA from London Business School. Through ARC InterCapital he has spent more than two decades investing in micro, small and medium-sized British businesses, deploying upwards of £20 million across 40+ companies; the firm's current portfolio collectively employs more than 1,500 people. He is best known as the first seed investor in Gamesys, an online gaming company that became the UK's fastest-growing private technology company in The Sunday Times Tech Track 100 in 2006 and ultimately featured in exits valued at £426 million (2015) and £490 million (2019).

Beyond ARC, Dixon has served since 2010 as Chairman of Infinitesima, the Abingdon-based high-tech firm that developed the Rapid Probe Microscope for the semiconductor industry, and as an Enterprise Fellow of The Prince's Trust. In 2008 he founded The Woodhaven Trust, a charity supporting pathways into employment and self-employment for offenders and ex-offenders. In 2020 he founded Fairer Share, a national campaign advocating the abolition of Council Tax and Stamp Duty in favour of a Proportional Property Tax. He is also a Gold Patron of the Radix think tank and founder of the Liberal Democrat Business & Entrepreneurs Network.

• Value-investing approach to private companies: ARC's principles are "few in number and simple in concept," favouring "businesses with enduring competitive advantages that are run by able and owner-oriented people."
• Seeks companies whose "earnings will be materially higher 5, 10, 20 years from now," with a commitment to long-term holding periods rather than quick flips.
• Backs ventures "with clear, easy-to-understand business concepts and the potential to realise meaningful earnings growth in five to ten years."
• Sector-agnostic, having invested across biotech, semiconductor, health, education, utilities, leisure, publishing, software and entertainment.
• Provides seed money or growth capital and will look at new business opportunities directly; willing to be a first-cheque seed investor (as with Gamesys) as well as a growth/expansion backer.