February 2026
The Career Portal, London
James Dixey
Founder and Managing Director
About The Career Portal
The Career Portal is a market-leading university admissions consultancy. It comprises The Medic Portal and The Lawyer Portal, which help students get into top medical and law schools, respectively, as well as Examfit, an embryonic EdTech business.
Founded in 2015 by Dr Ricky Tavares and George Rendel, The Career Portal took home EducationInvestor Global's 'Market Entrant' award in 2019.
Our Role
James Dixey was introduced to Ricky Tavares in August 2019, when Tavares first began contemplating a sale of The Career Portal.
Despite significant headwinds brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, Dixey was able to negotiate a successful sale that aligned the interests of both vendor and buyer, achieving maximum value for both parties. It was Dixey's largest mandate to date.
Of Dixey's work on the transaction, Tavares said:
"James was a real pleasure to work with and importantly very knowledgeable. He was always responsive and on-hand throughout. I would highly recommend James to any founders who may be considering an exit."
Following his work on this deal, Dixey has been awarded several new mandates in the education sector, including a live instruction to find a buyer for a multi-million-pound ELT summer schools business for children and young learners.
About the Buyer
Dukes Education was founded in 2015 by Aatif Hassan, Chairman. Dukes now owns 17 schools, four nursery brands, Oxbridge Applications and several consultancies advising on Oxford, Cambridge and US university admissions. In addition, Dukes operates residential summer schools and day activity camps.
The Career Portal had long been known to Dukes, Hassan said, noting that the business was a natural fit in his company's portfolio of education brands.
Hassan added:
"It was a no-brainer. We want the best university application support available in Dukes, so that we can give our pupils every opportunity of getting into the best universities out there when they eventually leave us.
"We had already found this in the Oxbridge and US university spheres. When it came to Medicine and Law, no one out there was doing this quite like Ricky and George at The Career Portal. Considering recent global events, their digital offering to students which, I believe, is unparalleled anywhere in the world, meant it was perfect timing."
Dixey added:
"Ricky, George and Aatif's team were a delight to work with. The Career Portal was my first sell-mandate outside ELT, and my biggest one yet. I loved the challenge. May there be many more!"
