Suzanne Horner, chief executive of the Colchester-based TMC, told the conference the deals would be done by the end of next month. “We are now £50 million turnover; by the end of November we will be £100 million.”

Horner told how she had joined the family-owned firm five years ago. “It had sales of £28 million but was not making a lot of profit. I said we needed to make £100 million.”

Despite initial scepticism, Gray Dawes re-established a presence in London in April 2015 with the purchase of The Business Travel Partnership, following in October the same year with the acquisition of Travel Focus Limited.

The two latest purchases are in the final stages of negotiations and are likely to involve similar independent TMCs. Horner said she had looked at numerous companies for sale but that gut feeling always played a part, particularly when the owners wished to stay involved.

“You are buying something from somebody who created it from nothing, so you have to respect that,” she added.

Garden tours specialist Brightwater Holidays was bought by Specialist Journeys backed by Santander, in June. Founder and former managing director Graeme Mitchell said the pre-sale process was critical. “If you are interested in selling, get ready. We all have the information in the filing cabinet. The day we sold was the day I knew my business better than ever.”

Graham Simpson sold Simply Travel to Thomson in 1999, but has since returned to the industry with Simpson Travel.

He warned owners to think very carefully about selling and retiring.

“I thought I would do all those things I wanted to do. The reality was I did not have that many hobbies. They also made me non-executive chairman, which in effect means you are doing nothing.”