Kent's Olympic golden girl Dame Kelly Holmes has helped a debt purchasing and managerment company celebrate winning gold for the way it treats its staff.

Cabot Credit Management, based in Kings Hill, West Malling, has achieved the Investors in Gold accolade.

It becomes one of just 677 companies nationwide with gold accreditation (3% of all businesses with IIP status).

The growing business employs several hundred people at Kings Hill.

IIP Gold recognises those businesses which put staff at the centre of their business, enabling them to deliver high performance.

Dame Kelly said: "I really enjoyed meeting the team at Cabot Credit Management to celebrate their Investors in People Gold Award. The company surpassed the tough criteria for achieving Gold and have really gone the extra mile, which was evident meeting all the employees from across the various departments.

"I know how hard it is to reach a gold standard and now the challenge is to keep striving for small improvements - good luck and keep pushing the boundaries."

Chief executive Neil Clyne said: "It's fantastic to have achieved IIP Gold. It demonstrates that we are truly engaging our people in the business, which I am certain supports the achievement of our excellent results."

The company was ranked in the latest Sunday Times Top 100 Companies to
Work For.

Cabot Credit Management has purchased assets of £7.5billion, manages assets of £1bn and cash collections of around £20million a month.