Manchester’s TickX to expand in Europe with £3m investment

Ticket search engine business TickX has announced plans to accelerate its expansion in Europe on the back of a £3m investment.

The Manchester-based company secured a multi-million pound boost in a Series A funding round led by venture capital firm BGF Ventures.

Other backers included Ministry of Sound and 24Haymarket, both of which are already invested in the company.

TickX enables users to find and purchase tickets for more than 125k events and attractions from major ticket-selling platforms, including Ticketmaster, Skiddle and Headout.

Last year, the company’s founders appeared on BBC programme Dragons’ Den, where they turned down three offers of £75k.

The new £3m funding will be used to fuel growth in further European markets, increasing a global footprint that already includes the UK, Ireland and Spain.

TickX also plans to add cinema tickets to its offering, invest in new technologies and grow its Manchester-based team to 35 staff.

TickX chief exec Steve Pearce said: “Over one million event-goers last year discovered that TickX is the only place they need to go to discover experiences and buy the best tickets.

“Now, our focus is firmly on international expansion and leading innovation in the multi-billion pound global experience market. The new funding from BGF Ventures and our other fantastic investors will drive us towards becoming the go-to destination for experience-lovers across the world.”

George Mills of BGF Ventures commented: “We are both proud and excited to be backing Steve, Sam and the whole of the TickX team.

“We’ve been seriously impressed by their ambition and pace in building the company, and we’re confident that TickX will continue to expand and reach their goal of becoming the global go-to platform for discovering experiences.”