The One Direction star has revealed he will be launching a label, an imprint under Simon Cowell's Syco brand.

He told The Sun newspaper: ''It's absolutely great to be working with Syco on a label.

''This is something I've wanted to do for some time, and to be given the opportunity to potentially give new artists a platform is an incredible feeling.''

And Louis has already secured his first signing in last year's X Factor reject Jack Walton, who he was seen mentoring throughout Jack's four weeks on the live shows.

Louis even flew the singer to Los Angeles for a week and the pair have been spending time together in the studio.

A source said previously: ''Jack and Louis had spent time in the studio together and Louis turned round to him and said, 'Come to LA with me.' They flew out at the end of January and returned a week later. With Zayn leaving the band it looks like Louis is covering all his options for the future.

Another insider added: ''Louis has his business head screwed on and is busy making plans for the future. He's rated very highly at Sony and they knew he'd be great to get on board.''

The 23-year-old singer is also currently looking for the next big girl band and is likely to sign the group to his label.

One Direction - which also includes Harry Styles, Liam Payne and Niall Horan - have had a tough time of it recently after a ''stressed'' Zayn Malik quit the band last month.