Motorsport Tickets is to broaden its offering across B2B hospitality after its owner agreed to acquire rallying specialist European Sport Communication (ESC).
ESC, founded in 1999 by former rallying world champion Bernard Occelli, is the official hospitality partner of the FIA World Rally Championship. It also has close relationships with leading teams such as Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team and Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team.
Motorsport Network said the acquisition will allow Motorsport Tickets to expand its business-to-business offerings, such as corporate hospitality programmes and VIP packages. The ESC division will complement the range of products already offered by Motorsport Tickets, including Formula 1 and MotoGP.
Oliver Ciesla, chief operating officer at Motorsport Network, said: “With our global organisation and marketing opportunities, we can give ESC’s business a boost in the next years to help them partner with more events and further increase their offering.
“Along with this, our existing Motorsport Tickets offerings, bringing fans and corporate clients to races and other motorsport events, will strongly benefit from ESC’s expertise, contacts, and know-how.”
ESC’s packages include customised VIP hospitality solutions, ‘inside experiences,’ and exclusive perspectives on the sport.
Founder Occelli will remain with the company to oversee the merger and assist in elevating Motorsport Tickets as a premier destination for the purchase of tickets and VIP experiences to motorsport events.
He said: “After more than 20 years of strong and continuous growth, it is exciting for us to become part of a much larger organisation and we are proud to have gained the interest of a fast-growing global player like Motorsport Network.
“Our activities complement each other perfectly and our longstanding and trusted relationship provides a solid base and ideal conditions to join forces. Through our shared passion for motorsport and our common business strengths, both sides will swiftly benefit from synergies allowing for the pursuit of bigger business opportunities.”
Motorsport Tickets is the Motorsport Network’s ticketing and experiences brand, created from the integration of leading ticket providers BookF1 (UK) and SportStadion (Holland) in January 2000.
Motorsport Network last year acquired Travel Destinations, a leading UK tour operator for sports car and historical motorsport events.
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