AT 24 years of age corporate jet cleaning entrepreneur Stefan Murphy has just made his first acquisition.

Mr Murphy, who lives with his parents at Hampton Poyle, near Kidlington, is the sole shareholder and managing director of Up and Away Aviation, which cleans corporate jets and helicopters and is based at Oxford Airport.

Up and Away Aviation last month acquired a competitor, Avialogistics, a subsidiary of Gama Aviation, for an undisclosed price. Mr Murphy said his company funded the transaction through cash reserves.

The former Gosford Hill School student started his business at 17.

He said Up and Away had grown to such a degree that an acquisition became necessary to acquire more staff, which take up to nine months to train, and absorb a competitor in the process.

“We got to that point where we were absolutely stretched in manpower,” he said.

His business has then expanded from seven staff, including himself, to 16.

The merger also expands Up and Away’s footprint, as Avialogistics’ head office had been at Farnborough Airport, in Hampshire, which is the UK’s only dedicated business jet airport.

Mr Murphy said he was considering moving Up and Away’s head office from Oxford to Farnborough within the next year. The company also has a presence in Stansted and Luton airports just north of London.

All of Avialogistics’ assets have been rebranded Up and Away.

Mr Murphy said that he was always attracted to building his own business, as his parents, Chris and Sharon Murphy, had both run their own businesses, mainly in wholesale.