Solmar Villas has expanded its range of properties in mainland Greece, after seeing trade sales revenue double year on year in January.

It has added 18 villas in the Halkidki and Olympus Riviera regions, bringing its total number of Greek villas to 530.

Julie Blake, chief executive, said: “Greece is one of the most popular destinations we offer and somewhere our travel agent partners have told us is increasingly popular with their clients.

“With easy flight connections from around the UK, we believe these areas will be popular with guests looking for somewhere new to explore; perhaps those who know and love Greece but want to try something a little different.”

She added: “We have seen a huge rise in agent demand for our villas, with over 1,000 new agents signed up on our Facebook page over the last three months, and trade sales revenue for January had doubled, year on year.

“We expect to see around 22% of our sales coming through the trade by 2025 and have plans to provide better agent support with a dedicated phone line and trade hub.”

About 15% of its bookings currently come from the trade.

At the start of this year, Solmar Villas was acquired by Kuoni parent Der Touristik UK, and last autumn it took on more than 450 properties from James Villas following the closure of the brand by Awaze.

Blake added: “Since being acquired by Der Touristik we have been able to accelerate growth projects, such as expansion plans and investment in the trade.

“The extra capacity [from James Villas] plus this expansion means we now have our largest portfolio to date.

“Our peaks season so far has been strong, with trade sales especially encouraging.

“Consumers seem determined to prioritise holidays and it’s a good time to be shouting about the value and flexibility that a villa holiday offers.”

The new additions are focused on the Halkidki and Olympus Riviera regions, which are not far from the international airport in Thessaloniki.

The villas sit alongside Solmar’s existing mainland Greece collection, covering the Peloponnese and Ionian Coast.

Solmar Villas also has properties on the Greek islands of Corfu, Crete, Zakynthos, Kefalonia, Kos, Lefkas and Rhodes.