Andrew Baxter was among the first to declare the hung parliament a “disaster” after the general election.

The managing director of Europa Logistics admitted he had expected a hefty Conservative victory when Theresa May called the snap election in April.

Today, his aspirations for what life will be like after Brexit are in “a more precarious position” than they were when he hosted Boris Johnson at his firm’s headquarters in Dartford in the run- up to the EU referendum a little more than a year ago.

He said: “What I wanted to see happen was a substantial Conservative majority that allowed the government to negotiate a deal with the EU and to push that deal through parliament.

“I wanted that transition process to be over as quickly as possible so we had certainty the other side of Brexit.

“Now that whole process has become more difficult.

“The reality is it means we will probably have a less-good Brexit deal.”

Mr Baxter had hoped leaving the European Union would mean leaving the single market, leaving the customs union and the end of free movement.

He thinks that is less likely with a minority government relying on the support of MPs in other parties.

Europa Logistics was based in Erith when Andrew Baxter bought the company.

He could not introduce his new business model at the old premises, which was too small, prompting the construction of headquarters in Dartford in 2014.

The site employs 350 people. The company has 600 staff overall across 11 sites in the UK and one in Hong Kong.

Originally from Worksop, Nottinghamshire, Mr Baxter was a director in a family business, RH Freight, which was sold in 2011 to Kuehne and Nagel.

He bought Europa using the proceeds of the acquisition after a two-year break.

He is in favour of building the Lower Thames Crossing to the east of Gravesend but wants issues at the present Dartford Crossing to be resolved as well.

He said: “It is certainly hugely more complicated for the government to achieve than it would have been with a reasonably substantial majority.”

Despite his concerns about a Brexit deal, Mr Baxter remains confident his company will continue to grow at a rapid pace in the coming years.

He bought Europa in 2013 when the company’s turnover was £76 million. Last year, revenues reached £116 million and this year he is expecting it to be near to £145m – nearly double the size it was during the acquisition.

He is aiming for turnover to be closer to £200 million by the end of next year, thanks to a complete restructure of the business which involved building its European logistics hub in Dartford in 2014, which employs about 350 people.

Its “one-hub concept” – where its 11 locations around the country all trunk back into Dartford at least once a night – has given it the ability to transport more goods at lower cost.

Every night it has departures from Dartford to around 30 European hubs. He sees Dartford as the “gateway to Europe” in logistics terms, whereas many UK-focused hauliers base themselves in Birmingham.

Alongside organic growth, which he expects to continue at a rate of 20%, Mr Baxter is also on the hunt for takeovers.

He has been talking to a number of companies, with the intention of acquiring one business a year for the foreseeable future.

He is looking for companies with a turnover of between £20 million and £50 million and is prepared to pay figures between £10 million and £20 million to buy them. These are mainly owner-managed companies where people are retiring.

He said: “There are quite a lot of companies of the nature we want to acquire.

“A big factor for people selling their family businesses is how their staff are going to get looked after in the future.

“There is no doubt this election result will damage growth and will damage jobs and ordinary people...” - Andrew Baxter, Europa Logistics

“We are a privately-owned British business and not a giant corporate. Often when small firms are acquired by corporations, a lot of people lose their jobs or they do not get managed in the right way.

“Instead of reporting locally to someone who can make quick decisions they are reporting to someone in Germany who does not have an appreciation of what is happening on the ground here.

“As a private business based here, there is an understanding that if they sell their business to us it is in good hands.

“We look after our people extremely well and have a very good culture.”

Despite the turmoil that has unfolded, he stands by his decision to campaign to leave the EU.

He said: “I don’t believe the leave vote was a mistake. The election was obviously a mistake. Undoubtedly that will damage business confidence and it will damage the economy.

“There is no doubt this election result will damage growth and will damage jobs and ordinary people.”