A WOMAN who started a travel business in a small shop in Saltcoats has left nearly £12million to family in her will.

Margaret ‘Margie’ Moffat OBE from West Kilbride built up the humble ticketing agency into the AT Mays travel empire with her husband Jim.

At one point the company had more than 300 branches and was Britain’s third largest travel agency.

Mrs Moffat died in October last year aged 92.

After selling the business in 1988 following her husband’s death, she donated £50million to charity establishing the Saltcoats-based Moffat Charitable Trust.

However, her recently published will shows she had £11.6million of personal wealth including £8.5million worth of land in Ayrshire, Dumfries and Galloway, the Borders and Cumbria. She also had nearly £700,000 worth of properties in Ayrshire and £2million in shares.

Despite her wealth, she was content to drive an aging Honda Civic worth just £1,500.

The business began as a sideline to husband Jim’s pet shop in Saltcoats in 1955, but in 1956 they bought over the Kilmarnock branch of Mays Shipping and Travel and AT Mays was born.

The business expanded rapidly, riding on the wave of popularity of foreign package holidays.

At its height, AT Mays employed 2,500 people, including around 300 at the head office in Saltcoats.

She has left gifts of £100,000 to friends and the rest to her son Jamie – former owner and chairman of Kilmarnock FC – and her three grandchildren.