BRITAIN'S largest independent travel agent has announced plans to increase turnover by £50m this year.

Hays Travel, based in Sunderland, recently reported turnover for the past 12 months of £200m.

Owner John Hays intends to increase that by a quarter in the coming year.

"We have a policy of growing by 25 per cent each year," he said.

"Finding another £50m this year is going to be a lot tougher than when I was trying to find two-and-a-half, but I think it is achievable."

The group has 600 staff and 32 stores, plus call centres in Sunderland, Newcastle, Stockton and Middlesbrough, making it the sixth-largest travel agency in the UK.

The home-working operation is the third largest in the country.

It employs 150 staff and there are plans to take on another 50 in the next six months.

"We have a mainly female workforce in the industry and we lose a lot of quality, experienced people when they have children," said Mr Hays.

"With good technology, you enable people like that to work and they can still take the kids to school."

The company is also poised to launch its first full online booking service for package holidays this week.

The biggest independently-owned travel agency in ABTA, its rate of growth could force it to move out of its headquarters in Sunderland.

Mr Hays recently took on a third city centre building to accommodate an increasing number of employees who had asked not to be moved to an out-of-town office park.

"It is only a year old, but is getting very full," he said.

He is faced with either moving the entire head office, or operating a split-site system.

"We are going to have to make some decisions about where to go, in the next six months or so," he said.

"But these are the nice problems to have."