Festicket, an online portal for music festivals, has raised $10.5m in Series D funding.
Beringea led the round, which also drew support from InMotion Ventures, Channel 4’s Commercial Growth Fund, Lepe Partners, U-Start and ex Spinnin’ Records CEO Eelko Van Kooten.
As a result of the fundraise, Eyal Malinger, investment director at Beringea, will be joining Festicket’s board. Ben Leaver, COO at Treatwell, will also join the board.
Zack Sabban, CEO and co-founder at Festicket, commented on the raise: “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.”
Festicket offers users the chance to discover and book tickets and travel packages for over 1200 music festivals worldwide.
The two-sided marketplace uses a network of over 4000 accommodation and travel suppliers.
To date, the company says its served more than 2 million travellers from 120+ countries.
The firm is HQ’ed in London and has offices in Amsterdam, Berlin, Porto and San Francisco.
Festicket is now seeking to expand into North American and Asian markets.
Jonathan Younes, CPO and co-founder at Festicket, went on to say: “Our product will continue to develop and innovate alongside the business. We’ll be launching exciting new features for our community that make discovering and booking live events easier and more intuitive than ever before.”
“Beringea’s investment in Festicket is underpinned by a fundamental shift in global consumer habits,” commented Eyal Malinger, Investment Director at Beringea. “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.”
The news comes after Festicket raised $13.7m from investors including Lepe Partners, PROfounders, U-start, Playfair, Wellington and Windcrest.
Sebastian Peck, managing director at InMotion Ventures, explained why he backed the company: “Our investment in Festicket reflects our belief that premium mobility is about adventures and experiences that people love for life. The festival industry is a tangible manifestation of this desire, and we want to help make it easier for every future festival goer to create everlasting memories.”
Former Booking.com CMO and co-founder Arthur Kosten and Jean-Charles Carré, manager of world-famous DJ David Guetta; have also invested.