THE man who helped found the Airtours holiday empire in East Lancashire with a loan of a few thousand pounds has sold most of his shares - for £31.5m.

Tom Trickett, brother-in-law of holiday giant Airtours' chairman David Crossland, sold 3.4 million shares in the firm.

The company said Mr Trickett, who retired as a non-executive director of the firm in September 1996, had sold the stake for "tax planning reasons".

Shares in Airtours have enjoyed a meteoric rise over the past eighteen months. In December 1995 they were worth £3.65 but had risen to £9.40 yesterday - an increase of more than 150 per cent. Mr Trickett sold 3.4 million shares in the company at £9.25.

Mr Trickett became involved in the business in 1972 when he put up part of the stake to buy Pendle Travel, a small East Lancashire travel agency whose owners were retiring, for £8,000. The pair began expanding the business and by 1986 the firm had 22 travel agencies, run by Trickett, and a tour operations side managed by Crossland.

It floated on the Stock Market in 1987. Almost 1,000 people are now employed at its Helmshore base together with another 11,000 around the world.

Following the share sale, Mr Trickett, who earned £33,000 from his part-time post with the firm in 1996, has only a relatively minor stake in the firm.

Last year, he agreed to sell around two million shares in the firm to the American based Carnival Corporation which now has a 29 per cent stake in the firm.

According to the firm's latest annual report Mr Crossland still has interests in 16 million shares worth more than £150 million - just under 12 per cent of the company..

In the Sunday Times league table of wealth at the weekend, the combined riches of Mr Trickett and Mr Crossland were put at at £225 million.

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