Just a year after launching a one-man business from home Tim Howarth has moved to office premises and is about to become a team of three.

His business, Astro Education, specialises in recruitment and retention for the education sector including connecting schools with high-quality teaching and support staff.

In its first year of trading the Cheadle-based business has provided recruitment support to 30 schools across primary, secondary and SEN settings including working with Staffordshire University Academies Trust.

Tim and his team, which will soon include a compliance director, have successfully supported 65 individuals in securing employment opportunities.

They are also working with University of Staffordshire to help secure employment for education graduates.

Tim, who worked in the insurance industry before moving into recruitment, has ambitious growth plans for his business. He’s aiming for a team of up to 10 staff within the next three years to allow expansion from Staffordshire into neighbouring counties.

The 36-year-old said: “I’m quite ambitious and have always wanted to start my own business. It was a risk because we have two young children who just started school in September but I thought that if I don’t do it now I’ll look back and regret not doing it.

“Everything is self-funded by me directly with no loans, grants or investors.”

The business is growing so quickly that Tim’s wife left her job to become the second member of the team, something they hadn’t anticipated happening so early in the life of Astro Education.

Tim added: “While we are committed to growth, we will ensure our expansion remains controlled and sustainable, allowing us to maintain the quality and integrity that define Astro Education.”

Astro Education has entered the Start-up Business of the Year, Small Business of the Year and Growth categories of University of Staffordshire Business Awards and Tim Howarth has entered the Young Business Person of the Year category.