GOLDEN employees have helped Bolton's Travel Counsellors company to buck the holiday industry trend.

Agents for the Churchgate-based company who have earned a "Gold Award" for sales have helped Travel Counsellors' sales to rise by 57 per cent -- when the industry as a whole is down by two per cent.

Entry to the company's gold status is based on sales over a 12-month period. To qualify, the company's personal travel counsellors have to have taken £500,000 in bookings or £50,000 in commission.

For the telesales staff the targets are higher -- £75,000 in commission or £750,000 worth of bookings. Almost 40 members of staff have achieved the standard.

Another step forward for the company, founded in 1994 by chairman David Speakman, is the granting of PLC status by Companies House. This move is not the same as a stock market flotation but can be one of the steps on the way to an eventual listing.