The deal takes Reed & Mackay’s global turnover to more than £600m and creates a worldwide staff coverage of around 4000 travel experts across 40 countries.

In a statement, the firm said the acquisition would help both businesses “accelerate the evolution of their suite of industry-leading technology, across the key international markets of their prestigious client bases”.

Fred Stratford, Reed & Mackay group chief executive, said: “This is a really exciting time for our people and our clients. There is a passion for service at the heart of both businesses that makes this a very natural fit. Together we will be even stronger.”

Anthony Rissbrook, Hillgate Travel chief executive, added: “Hillgate and Reed & Mackay have invested heavily in our wholly-owned, client facing technology.

"We are very excited about the opportunity to bring together the best features from both platforms, accelerating our delivery of industry leading technology to our clients.”