Although the ticketing enterprise has come to be dominated in lots of markets by a handful of huge gamers like Ticketmaster and AEG, there’s no scarcity of startups trying to chew into the giants’ market share.
Amongst them is Seat Distinctive, a London-headquartered “premium expertise platform” that’s carving out a distinct segment for itself with VIP tickets and hospitality packages for music, sport, cultural and theatrical occasions.
The corporate introduced on Thursday (August 28) that it has raised GBP £14.5 million (USD $19.15 million) in an prolonged Sequence A funding spherical, led by Nickleby Capital.
The prolonged funding spherical builds on an preliminary elevate of £7 million ($9 million) in the summertime of 2023, additionally led by Nickleby Capital, and with the participation of some prior traders together with Richard Flint (board member at LADBible Group and former CEO of Sky Wager) and Simon Murphy (serial entrepreneur, investor and founding father of the TFO Group).
The corporate has attracted funding significantly from prime athletes, together with Olympic champion runner Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill, footballer John Terry, rugby gamers Matt Dawson and Sam Warburton, and cricketers Ben Stokes and Stuart Broad.
Based by CEO Robin Sherry, Seat Distinctive has constructed a community of partnerships with greater than 60 UK venues, golf equipment and promoters, amongst them Yorkshire Cricket, Jacksonville Jaguars UK, and Burnley FC.
Its present provides embrace hospitality packages and premium seats for the England v. Finland soccer (soccer) match at London’s Wembley Stadium in September, and WWE Dwell occasions at a number of venues in Newcastle and Manchester this October.
On the music facet, Seat Distinctive is providing VIP tickets and hospitality packages for quite a few main acts together with Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, NCT Dream, Dua Lipa, Lauryn Hill, and the just lately reunited Oasis.
The platform runs on “proprietary dynamic pricing software program,” which normally means costs for occasions are adjusted in real-time primarily based on demand.
“The expertise financial system is quickly changing into the spine of the music trade, as followers more and more hunt down not simply stay performances, however unforgettable, one-of-a-kind experiences.”
Richard Flint, Seat Distinctive
The software program “permits rights holders to optimize attendance, whereas followers profit from a clear and reliable buying expertise of genuine, assured stock,” Seat Distinctive says.
The corporate additionally introduced a board of advisors that features Alastair Lukies CBE, Dame Alison Rose, Sir Michael Lockett, Tim Griffin, and Damien O’Donohoe, who might be becoming a member of current board members Richard Flint (Chairperson) and Saav Shah of Nickleby Capital.
“The addition of such distinguished figures to our group of board advisors is a testomony to the affect we’re making within the trade. This funding will permit us to proceed enhancing our providing, making certain that followers have unparalleled entry to the perfect stay experiences,’ Sherry mentioned.
“The expertise financial system is quickly changing into the spine of the music trade, as followers more and more hunt down not simply stay performances, however unforgettable, one-of-a-kind experiences,” added Flint.
“Given the importance of those events, followers wish to be sure that they’re shopping for from a trusted and clear firm that solely makes use of real sources. We’re delighted with the current development that Seat Distinctive has seen, and the data, connections and sources that these new traders deliver will assist us reap the benefits of the massive alternatives forward of us.”
Seat Distinctive backs up its assertion that customers are more and more in search of out experiences, citing knowledge from a UK examine carried out by Mastercard earlier this yr, which discovered that 50% of British customers plan to spend extra on experiences this yr than final, whereas 80% agreed that spending on experiences is “normally, or at all times, price it.”
“By bridging the hole between rights holders and followers, Seat Distinctive is making a extra related and interesting surroundings the place stay experiences are extra accessible, memorable, and safe.”
Alastair Lukies CBE
“The booming experiential financial system is all about creating unforgettable moments, and Seat Distinctive is main the best way by making certain that followers can entry these alternatives seamlessly,” Stuart Broad mentioned.
“By bridging the hole between rights holders and followers, Seat Distinctive is making a extra related and interesting surroundings the place stay experiences are extra accessible, memorable, and safe,” added Alastair Lukies CBE.
Seat Distinctive plans to make use of the raised funds to additional develop its platform, broaden into new sectors, and “ship even better worth to each followers and rights holders.”
Seat Distinctive’s funding announcement comes simply days after ticket market platform TickPick introduced a $250 million funding from Brighton Park Capital.
And so they’re not the one ticketing platforms elevating bug bucks nowadays: DICE introduced in August 2023 that it had raised $65 million in a funding spherical led by funding agency MUSIC. That adopted a $122-million Sequence C funding spherical in 2021. Final month it was reported that the corporate is exploring a sale valuing it at “a whole lot of thousands and thousands of {dollars}.”
As of 2020, ticketing platform Lyte had raised $48 million. Occasions platform Posh, which focuses on small-scale, intimate occasions, introduced final month that it had raised $22 million in a Sequence A spherical led by Goodwater Capital, with extra backing from FirstMark Capital, Companyon Ventures and Epic Ventures.Music Enterprise Worldwide
