The US Is Next: Festicket Secures $4.6M From Edge Investments In The UK

Festicket – The Festicket team
All set for a year or expansion

UK creative investment firm Edge has granted $4.6 million to Festicket, which allows festivalgoers to book unique experiences alongside their festival ticket.

Festicket partners with festivals to provide travel packages that combine tickets, accommodation, and transfers in a one-stop shop. Besides its London HQ, the company operates offices in San Francisco, Amsterdam, Berlin and Porto.  Festicket also helps users find a suitable festival among the many out there by analyzing listening habits on Spotify, thanks to a partnership with the streaming service established last year.

The latest investment from Edge follows a $10.5 million series D funding round led by transatlantic venture capital firm Beringea in November.

Founded by Zack Sabban (CEO) and Jonathan Younes (CPO), the management team has since been bolstered by a series of senior executives hired from companies such as Live Nation, Eventbrite, and Channel 4. The list includes Lauren Pye, who was appointed as president North America in September 2018 to lead Festicket’s US expansion, and who previously worked at Live Nation’s Universe.  Former Ticketscript/Eventbrite COO and CCO Matthew Ephgrave was appointed Festicket COO in November 2017, and Matthew Hann, Channel 4’s financial expert of 10 years, was appointed CFO of Festicket in May 2018.

Festicket currently has 2.5 million customers, over 1,200 festivals and 4,500 suppliers across 50 countries worldwide, by its own admission.

The Edge investment is intended to support Festicket’s entrance into new markets, primarily North America and Asia, as well as the development of the underlying technology platform.

The company also plans to add a paid membership tier with offers benefits for subscribers in 2019.

Investment director David Fisher led the investment from Edge, alongside investment manager Josh Burge.

Edge Investments founder and CEO David Glick said: “What attracted me to Festicket was its talented and committed management team.

“Zack [Sabban] and Jonathan [Younes] have an almost telepathic bond, and in common with the best entrepreneurs they know why they are building Festicket into a huge business, solving an everyday millennial pain-point by streamlining, personalising and curating thousands of live experiences for millions of customers.”

Edge Investments director David Fisher commented: “We are excited to partner with such a fast-growing company. The experience, events and festival markets continue to grow exponentially and Festicket is strategically positioned to benefit from these combined trends as a horizontally integrated platform. We are delighted to support them on their journey.”

– Zack Sabban and Jonathan Younes
CEO and CPO of Festicket

Festicket CEO Zack Sabban commented: “We welcome this new investment from Edge at a really important time for Festicket. Edge has a unique network and wide music industry knowledge, as well as an excellent understanding of our approach to content and community – a crucial ingredient in our growth recipe.

“The investment team are very passionate about our business and they believe in and understand our mission and business model. It feels like a perfect match.”

Festicket CPO Jonathan Younes added: “The new round of funding will support more product and technology work to continue to improve our user experience and discovery tools. We are delighted to welcome the Edge Investments team and build, with their support, the best platform for festival fans around the world.”