Solmar Villas aims to increase turnover by 40% next year, offering packages to the trade for the first time. Solmar also plans to move into long-haul and to add 1,000 properties, taking its inventory to 2,500.
Solmar is launching flight-inclusive packages to the trade, promising agents exclusive access to properties in more than 25 destinations in the Mediterranean and Europe.
The brand’s origins date back to the 1980s when John and Maria Tayler rented out their property in Menorca. They went on to launch Solmar in 1994 before handing it to daughter Julie Blake, now chief executive.
Blake said: “Our plan is to be that go-to brand, to be a household-recognised name so when people think of villa holidays, whether they be in the trade, in the public or press, Solmar is that brand that they think of, and in a positive way.”
She said the appointment of five new unnamed directors had been a necessary step, with leadership now in each part of the company. “Until then, it was just me, and I was becoming the bottleneck within the business.”
Blake is aiming for £40 million turnover next year but stressed: “We are still very family-friendly, both as an employer and as a company to speak to, and I think our clients like that. They like the personal touch, and we understand each client and what they are after.
“We are a family-run business, we’re not answering to shareholders, it’s not investment driven – this is about a family wanting to earn a living and be proud of what we do."
A £600,000 reservations system has been installed, while a move to an office with double the size to accommodate the existing staff of more than 30 and allow for expansion is in progress.
