Brilliant growth has painted a picture of success for a Midlands art supply company.

Castle Galleries has doubled its number of stores - and in the process landed the prestigious monthly Business Award from The Birmingham Post.

Marketing manager Sam Jackson said: "We're thrilled. The idea was to take art onto the high street in top locations and the public has really responded.

"We've got a growing market among people keen on developing their own space and interested in lifestyle at home."

The arts store group has an annual turnover of £10 million - and has recently boosted its number of outlets from eight to 16.

They include stores at Birmingham's Mailbox and two in Solihull.

The judges praised the success of the business, both in expanding its HQ and the numbers of stores. The group now has around 100 members of staff at its shops.

A spokesman for the judges, Alan Jackson, of Intercity Communications, said: "I think this is an excellent example of a dynamic company taking a very forward looking approach to a niche marketplace.

"They've shown tremendous growth and made wellstructured progress."

The company was awarded a plaque and a bottle of Champagne and will attend the grand final along with the 12 other monthly winners next year.

The art store group recently doubled the size of its Warwickshire headquarters less than a year after moving to its new base.

It set up at A & J Mucklow's Tachbrook Link, Tachbrook Park Drive, Leamington Spa, last August. But following further expansion of its stores throughout the UK, the company has now leased the premises next door to take its headquarters to a total of 23,000 sq ft.

Forty staff in the framing, production, administration, IT and marketing departments are to be based at the premises.

Ian Weatherby- Blythe, managing director, said the company would be looking to expand its number of stores in the coming months.

* The main sponsors of the Birmingham Post Business Awards are Intercity Mobile Communications and Churchill Vintners in association with Champagne Taittinger.

British Airways and Aston Business School provide further support, along with Biztv, part of Aston Media at Aston University, which produces a business video of each monthly winner worth £2,500.

The judges choose the best news story appearing in The Post that month. So if you have a good story to tell, contact the Business Desk on 0121-236-3366 or send us the details.