Howells to lead Gloucestershire family business after management buyout

The reins of a 21-year-old Gloucestershire-headquartered business have been handed to the daughter Naomi Howells, who led a management buyout for an undisclosed sum.

Her mother, the CEO, and former supply teacher Lynis Bassett founded Class People in 2022 from her living room in Gloucester and it has steadily grown to be a leading education recruiter in the South West.

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Now Naomi, who was made managing director in September 2019, has acquired the majority share of the £5million turnover company after Lynis announced her plans to step back.

"Handing over the reins of the 21-year-old family business to Naomi is a natural progression for the business," said Lynis.

"It was never the plan to be a family business, but it is certainly very rewarding to pass it on in this way. The transition heralds an exciting new phase for Class People, as it continues its work for the greater good of employment and recruitment in the education sector."
 
Naomi added: "I am delighted to take the lead for this next chapter in Class People’s business development and relish the many exciting opportunities ahead.

"Alongside our talented and experienced team, we’ll continue to build on the strong foundations that Lynis has worked so hard to establish for the business over the past two decades. With a growing client and candidate base, I could not be more positive about the future for Class People."

Naomi said she and Lynis would continue to work closely together to ensure the success of the company, which also provides funding for its charitable arm Class People Foundation, whose purpose is to support the welfare, wellbeing and aspirations of children and young people in early foundation stage, primary and secondary education.

Naomi has a strong track record in working on client projects to improve business performance and is now focused on identifying other talent pools within society, which have been previously overlooked.

She is starting with a pilot with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) involving retraining people from sectors outside education who share the same attitude and aptitude as teaching professionals, including the army and the care sector.

Naomi has worked in the family business since 201. She left for a short while to gain wider experience in a corporate setting but returned in 2014 bringing with new skills and ideas.

She was made MD in September 2019, just prior to the business being challenged by COVID-19.
Lynis will remain on the board and continue in her role as trustee of Class People Foundation.

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