A BOLTON firm celebrated its annual conference with the announcement of a 28 per cent increase in business.

Delegates at the Travel Counsellors conference were told the Churchgate-based company had had a very successful year.

The company's 10th anniversary celebrations were carried out in style with more than 700 staff, partners and suppliers attending the three-day event at the Reebok Stadium.

Going for Gold was the theme, with Gold medal runner turned speaker Kriss Akabusi providing an insight into what it takes to excel in sport.

Announcing the rise in business, chairman David Speakman praised the delegates for their efforts. He also said the company, which won a Queen's Award last year, was expecting a rise in turnover from £79 million for 2003 to £137 million for 2004. Mr Speakman said: "We had a fantastic weekend. To bring the entire nationwide team together is an enormous task, but it was the perfect opportunity to reward for the year gone by and prepare for the opportunities that the coming year will bring."