Asia

Festicket’s major funding to support expansion

Festicket has raised $10.5m in a Series D round of funding, which it said will support the festival booking company in accelerating its international expansion.

The round is led by transatlantic venture capital firm Beringea and joined by Jaguar Land Rover’s venture capital fund InMotion Ventures, Channel 4’s Commercial Growth Fund, Lepe Partners, U-Start and ex Spinnin’ Records chief executive Eelko Van Kooten.

Eyal Malinger, investment director at Beringea, will join the Festicket board, along with Treatwell’s chief operating officer, Ben Leaver. The company will be appointing an independent non-executive chairman in the near future.

The firm has offices in London (HQ), Amsterdam, Berlin, Porto and San Francisco, with the investment helping it expand further into North American and Asian markets. Festicket is also looking to increase its supply base by offering a broader range of events.

Zack Sabban, chief executive and co-founder at Festicket said: “With this new investment we will be able to accelerate the expansion of our unique business model internationally and to more verticals. Our success so far has been driven by our focus on content, community and commerce, so we will use the same ingredients to become the go-to global brand for live event experiences.”

Prior to this round, Festicket had raised $13.7m from investors including Lepe Partners, PROfounders, U-start, Playfair, Wellington and Windcrest. Festicket also has ex-Booking.com chief marketing officer and co-founder Arthur Kosten as an investor and advisor and Jean-Charles Carré, manager of world-famous DJ David Guetta as an investor.

Eyal Malinger, investment director at Beringea said: “Beringea’s investment in Festicket is underpinned by a fundamental shift in global consumer habits. Unprecedented demand – particularly among millennial consumers – for experiences over material possessions has fuelled the meteoric rise of ‘festival tourism’. Festicket sits at the epicentre of this trend and, as Europe’s largest vendor of festival travel and tickets, it has enabled millions of people to uncover new music, culture, and experiences.

“With millions of monthly visitors to its website, we felt that Festicket is uniquely positioned to help festivals around the world grow and attract new customers. Prior to Festicket, discovering and purchasing festival tickets, travel, accommodation and experiences was fragmented, time-consuming, and often restricted only to experienced festival-goers. Its platform – built by one of the most exceptional collection of founders and management we have encountered – has transformed this dynamic, opening up the market to first-time consumers and dramatically reducing the time and effort required to enjoy the festival experience.”

Image: Veld Music Festival