SALES of 100,000 Mediterranean homes in Spain, as well as 50 new Kent jobs, are riding on the backs of Charlton footballers.

Spanish property firm Llanera UK, part of the Llanera construction group, one of Spain’s biggest companies, is pumping a record £6.6million into the Premiership club to raise its profile.

The sponsorship, celebrated by events at The Valley and in the House of Commons, replaces that of all:sports, the sports clothing and equipment company that went into administration in September.

Charlton are due to wear their new Llanera livery for the first time against Arsenal on Boxing Day live on Sky.

It kicks off a planned explosion of property construction mainly targeted at UK buyers who now snap up around half of all new Spanish homes.

Llanera UK and joint venture partner Blue Sun World are to build and market the properties on new "resort villages" on a long stretch of Mediterranean coastline. It is understood that planning permission has been given for resorts on land owned by Frugalitas, a fruit-growing company. Building has already begun on nine sites.

Llanera and Blue Sun World are about to launch their ambitious strategy from new offices at Turkey Mill, Maidstone. Their three units in Tolherst Court covering 5,500 sq feet will accommodate 20 staff initially, increasing to 50 if sales go well.

Emilio Teresa, managing director of Llanera UK, previously ran Thames Fruit, a fresh produce importer formerly based at Paddock Wood. It later switched to Hartlip, near Sittingbourne, as International Produce, which runs Sheerness Cold Stores.

Mr Teresa said Charlton was the firm’s perfect partner in the UK. The sponsorship would promote the brand image, helping to sell an "experience", not just new holiday and retirement homes. Resorts would offer golf courses, churches, hotels and other facilities.

"We don’t want to sell houses, we want people to join the university of leisure," he said. "We’ve got a very good business plan, we already have a lot of land and we already have a lot of knowledge in the UK."

The company would expand across England, he added, although the head office would remain in Kent.

"There is no doubt this will succeed. This is only the beginning of the story," he added.