The Seat Unique team. Photo credit: Seat Unique
London-based “premium ticketing” platform Seat Unique has announced a nearly $9 million Series A and revealed plans to “expand its reach into new sectors and markets.”
Five-year-old Seat Unique detailed the £7million (currently $8.93million) fundraiser in a formal note emailed to DMN today. After launching its marketplace earlier in 2020, the company has “partnered with over 40 of the UK’s biggest venues, clubs and promoters” and has sold over £30m ($38.45m) worth of tickets to date, according to executives ) sold.
Said “direct-from-source” tickets do indeed give customers access to “premium” experiences – albeit in exchange for premium prices, Seat Unique’s website states. For a cool £420 ($539) – £350 for the actual ticket plus £70 VAT – you can enjoy fast track entry to the VIP area of the Kaiser Chiefs’ Greenwich Summer Sounds show this July.
Also included is a “champagne reception” before the performance and a “3-course meal on site”. the painted room‘ and a ‘free bar’ appear, the appropriate description will be displayed. Likewise, those willing to spend £799/$1,025 (excl. VAT) per person can reserve a ‘private box’ for eight to 12 people at Harry Styles’ forthcoming concerts at Wembley Stadium.
Led by London-based firm Nickleby Capital (which, according to its website, typically “invests £5m-15m”), Seat Unique’s just-detailed raise was also backed by former Sky Bet CEO Richard Flint (who doubles as board advisor) and Simon Murphy, founder of Dublin’s TFO Group.
In addition to the goal mentioned at the beginning of opening up additional industries and markets, the ticketing service made it clear that it wants to “strengthen its partnerships with industry-leading organizers and venues”.
Robin Sherry, founder and CEO of Seat Unique, whose platform reportedly attracts “over 200,000 fans a month”, addressed the round and his company’s progress in the market in a statement, saying among other things: “From the beginning Nickleby recognized the problem, that we were trying to solve and we believed in our ability to solve it.
“The completion of such a remarkable investment round in the current climate not only demonstrates the opportunity before us, but also the progress we’ve made since launching our marketplace and the building blocks we created through 2020, to then the ensuing results “Covid,” he finished.
Earlier this week, Robbie Williams became the “biggest investor” in UK organization Tickets for Good, which offers concession and free tickets to NHS workers and has so far secured around $625,000 in seed capital per manager. Meanwhile, live entertainment platform Fever announced a $110 million fundraiser in February, while Live Nation launched Vibee, a “music-focused travel destination experiences company,” in April.