Family owned Solmar Villas has been acquired by Kuoni parent firm, Der Touristik UK. Solmar will join Kuoni, Carrier, CV Villas, Kirker, Jules Verne and Journey Latin America within the Der Touristik portfolio. It wants to transform Solmar into a UK market leader for villa holidays. The current Solmar villa inventory comprises 1,600 private villas in Spain, Portugal, Cyprus, Greece, France, Turkey, Italy, Croatia, and the US “The acquisition enhances and complements our existing portfolio in the villa market,” said Der Touristik UK CEO, Francis Torrilla “It also means we’ve got a broader range of price-points across our specialist brands so we’re relevant to more customers whilst always focusing on value and quality.” Solmar has strong relationships with travel trade and partnerships with Jet2Holidays, British Airways and Hays Travel. It will continue operating out of its current Burton-upon-Trent location, and plans to expand with more jobs in the future.

Villa holiday specialist Solmar is adding the Peloponnese to its list of holiday destinations. The family-run company has added 12 villas in the southern Greek province to its European portfolio for 2024. This is what it calls the 'real Greece'. Julie Blake, CEO of Solmar Villa Holidays, said: "It's an absolute gem and we are really excited to have added villas in this unique destination." Initially Solmar will be offering villas in the Kardamili, Methoni, Stoupa areas of the province, which is located on the southern tip of mainland Greece. More properties will be added in the new year. Villas range in size from a cosy one-bedroom to a hillside four-bedroom villa. The Peloponnese joins the Ionian coast, Kos and Ibiza as new destinations recently added to Solmar's portfolio. It comes as the company supports travel agents and customers impacted by the sudden closure of the James Villa brand earlier this month. Solmar has taken on more than 450 of James Villas' cancelled properties. More than 800 of these villas have been added in the last six months and numbers are set to grow further in 2024. Next year the company celebrates its 30^th anniversary.