Fragrance house

Mark Birley

Mark Birley founded Annabel’s in London’s Mayfair in 1963 as the first of his private members’ clubs. He expanded the business with Mark’s Club in 1972 and Harry’s Bar in 1979, followed by ventures including the Bath & Racquets Club and George. The public identity associated with his name combined carefully considered interiors, service and food presentation with a discreet men’s fragrance aesthetic. In 1996, Mark Birley launched Mark Birley for Men, developed with fragrance expert Pierre Bourdon and credited in Frédéric Malle’s official biography to Frédéric Malle. The scent was conceived with an old-fashioned structure given a modern treatment, reflecting Birley’s preference for something more discreet than many contemporary men’s fragrances. A second fragrance, Charles Street, appeared in 2011. In June 2007, Birley sold his clubs to entrepreneur Richard Caring; he died in London on 24 August that year, aged 77, following a stroke.