The boss of one of Dartford’s biggest businesses is confident that Brexit will be a success – despite the potential impact on his shipping firm.

Andrew Baxter is the managing director at Europa Worldwide, which has a £30 million operations base in Albion Road, and recently met the home affairs select committee to discuss what could happen when the UK leaves the customs union.

Being an EU member means Britain does not have to worry about any customs duties on goods travelling within the union, and leaving will increase transit times and costs to importers and exports.

Mr Baxter was a vocal backer of the Leave campaign during the run-up to the referendum and is confident businesses will thrive outside the EU, but told the committee the government must start tackling possible trading inconveniences immediately.

“I believe it is vital that the government sets up a working group straight away which will look at how to slicken the process and minimise delays at the border,” he said.

“This group should be made up of industry experts and customs officials and should start to tackle the issue immediately, so that we are prepared for the changes when they happen.”

Other business experts and MPs were also involved in the meeting, and Mr Baxter said some were surprised to hear that he voted to leave.

Such was his support of the campaign that Boris Johnson chose Europa’s Dartford headquarters – which employs 250 people – as the scene for a key Brexit rallying speech in March last year.

Mr Baxter continued: “I’m an ardent supporter of the UK leaving the EU because I believe Britain should be a free, governing country with control over its own laws and potential for growth.

“But we need to make sensible and considered decisions now in order to best manage the changes which are inevitably involved with extricating ourselves from the EU, particularly in relation to customs clearance.”

“I’m an ardent supporter of the UK leaving the EU because I believe Britain should be a free, governing country with control over its own laws and potential for growth" Andrew Baxter

Europa has 11 depots in the UK, connected to 28 hubs across the continent, and employs hundreds of people from all over the world.

This year marks its 50th anniversary and more than 60 senior team members celebrated the success of the business at its third annual management conference in Doncaster last week.

Mr Baxter continued: “The last three years have seen us overcome some big challenges, which we addressed through a strategic restructuring process and targeted expansions of resources in key geographical hotspots.

“We’ve also voted as a country to leave the EU and are now embarking on a brave new world of business in which optimisation of our strengths will be a key factor.”

The House of Commons voted by 498 to 114 in favour of allowing Prime Minister Theresa May to activate Article 50 last week, to begin the formal process of leaving the EU.