TWO entrepreneurs have experienced a meteoric rise after founding a Lostock business that hires out school facilities to community groups.

Paul Andrews, aged 35, and Scott Warrington, aged 34, met around 2005 when working in sport and community development at Westleigh High School.

And after witnessing the cut in school and local government funding following the 2008 financial crisis, they decided to create School Lettings Solutions (SLS).

The business at Lostock Office Park opens up schools when they’re closed and hires out facilities, including sports halls, swimming pools and football pitches, to local community and sports organisations.

Mr Andrews said: “Between the two of us we had around 15 years of working for schools and back then there was a lot of funding around.

“The Government had a lot of money to put towards schools but it started getting worse with the recession and budgets getting tighter.

“We set up a pilot for a school over a 12-week period and it went really well and it became our first school.

“A few months after that we had another school sign up with us.

“Now our company has been running for five years and it has all just snowballed.”

Mr Andrews went to school at Hesketh Fletcher in Atherton, going on to study sport at Wigan and Leigh College before his degree at Edge Hill and a Masters at Manchester Metropolitan University.

He then worked at Westleigh High school, Leigh and Oasis at MediaCityUK in Salford.

Mr Warrington meanwhile grew up in Lancashire and went to Holy Cross School in Chorley.

He then went to Runshaw College before studying a sports degree at UCLAN and a Masters at Bolton College.

He also worked at Westleigh High School before moving on to St Joseph’s in Bolton.

After meeting at Westleigh, the pair founded SLS in 2011 and now employ more than 400 staff and work with 100 schools and 4,000 sports clubs, performing art groups and community organisations.

Mr Andrews described it as a “win win” for the community as it provides the facilities for the groups and also raises money for the schools through rental payments.

Mr Warrington said: “Without us one or two of the schools might not be here.

“Some said they were on the verge of closing.

“One school that is now making £50,000 more than it was.

“So we’re helping to improve the financial situation of schools while enabling community groups to access facilities.”