After doing his National Service he went up to University College, Oxford, to read Philosophy, Politics and Economics but he left after failing his first year exams.
[3] In 1963, Birley founded Annabel's at Berkeley Square in the Mayfair district in central London.
The club was named for his wife, the former Lady Annabel Vane-Tempest-Stewart, and it was the first of its kind: a member-only nightclub that catered to an exclusive clientele, including the Prince of Wales.
[2] In 1972, Birley opened Mark's Club and continued to expand his portfolio in the restaurant, nightclub and hotel business.
[8] Mark and Annabel had three children: As a child Birley's son Robin was mauled and badly scarred for life by a tiger at the private zoo of family friend John Aspinall (1926–2000).
[4] In 2006, however, Birley dismissed his son Robin and returned to the helm of his empire, which until his death he ran with his daughter India Jane.