The move sees previous shareholder Equistone Partners Europe exit the business.

A number of other investors were believed to be interested in Audley Travel with KKR, Cinven and CCMP Capital Advisors all thought to be in the mix.

A price tag of around £300 million had been suggested.

However, as TTG reported earlier this month, 3i had emerged as the leading candidate.

Founded in 1996, Audley Travel operates in the UK and USA providing tailor-made travel to over 80 destination countries across six continents.

In 2015 Audley Travel is forecast to deliver revenues of around £165 million, up 20% on the prior year.

Tom Salmon, 3i director, said: “Audley is an excellent fit for our investment strategy of backing mid market businesses to grow internationally.

"It is a market leading business which delivers outstanding service to its clients and which is capitalising on the growing demand in both the UK and the US for high quality, genuinely tailored experiential travel."

Ian Simkins, chief executive of Audley Travel, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with 3i which has enabled our management team to invest further into the business.

"3i has a longstanding track record of supporting people based businesses and their international mindset and footprint is highly attractive to us as a management team."