Simon Marcus has come a long way since the days when he toured shopping malls, selling cheap art and prints from his mobile stall. With his new art gallery just opened on Moseley's high street, he now counts banks and accountancy firms - as well as other small businesses and even Wayne Rooney - among his clients, dealing in names such as Picasso and Andy Warhol. "I've been in the business for 20 years, selling fine art prints," he says, surrounded by bright contemporary paintings depicting a drab inner-city world. "I've always dreamed of moving more into the real art world." Proving that mixing work and pleasure can work out sometimes, the entrepreneur has built up a 17-strong team from scratch, without investors. "I started at the bottom end and just moved up," he says, adding he soon realised with a strong word of mouth he needed a more permanent base than his touring cart. "If you give good service, people come back." Originally setting up shop 12 years ago in Kings Heath, he has learned to offer a range of services. It was the depths of the 1990s recession and he had to grab business from as wide a range of sources as possible. "This is a multi-functional place," he says. "It's good for interior designers as well as the general public." Simon has also thrived by remaining dedicated to his business, putting its profits back in. "I'm not greedy," he says. "I offer good, fair deals and my overheads are not high. I've got no bad habits to support." It is an approach that has worked, with turnover growing 50 per cent on average year-on-year. His business now has its own artists and preparation workshops. He has benefited from a growing market for art. London's fine art market saw a 29.4 per cent rise in turnover during the first half of the year, and Birmingham's is flourishing too. Within the city's business community he has secured clients including Whitbread, Severn Trent Water, South Birmingham College and Fitness First - each lured in by the cachet of art and the potential returns. "Art is an increasingly accessible market and with the current economic uncertainties we are finding more and more businessesturning to it as a tangible form of investment," says Simon. "Our fine art advisors help corporate clients make the right choice, whether it be an original piece from one of our many in-house artists or using our extensive picture finding service to source art worldwide. "Over the past few years our corporate business has grown tremendously," he says. "The explosion of city living in Birmingham coupled with the rise of interior design TV shows has led to us gaining clients across all sectors ranging from property developers and interior designers to breweries and even hospitals." For time-poor clients, his team's understanding of the art sector has proved attractive in identifying upcoming trends and promising new artists. The gallery's opening exhibition this month showcases four upcoming new artists in what Simon hopes will become a springboard for the future expansion of the company. "Looking ahead, I aim to build upon our first exhibition with a constantly evolving range of new and exciting collections for both the corporate investor and private purchaser," he says. And surrounded by specialists sporting a carefully-honed art education, Simon, who has no such training, says he can hold his own. "I rely on twenty years of knowledge, and I've made some mistakes," he admits, laughing. "But compared with the ones who have been trained up I tend to come up with the same answers. That is a real pleasure." * Marcus Galleries' first exhibition There & Then runs until the end of the month at 135 Alcester Road, Moseley. | 
