Russia’s Ticketland Raises $10M From iTech Capital To Up Its E-Ticketing Sales

Russian event ticketing company Ticketland — which claims to be closing in on being the largest player in Eastern Europe — has raised a new round of funding: $10 million from Russia-based Private Equity and Venture Capital fund iTech Capital. Money it says it’ll use to increase e-ticketing as a percentage of its sales; up from the current 15% to an ambitious 50%.

Specifically, Ticketland says it plans to implement new online services and marketing initiatives based on Big Data tech, incorporating research based on user behaviour modelling, which in turn will enable it to offer additional value for event organisers via new marketing channels.

The Ticketland group currently incorporate three brands/market segments. United Art Tickets is a provider of tickets for concerts, theatre, shows and sports, and a supplier of ERP and e-ticket platforms for venues; MDTZK is the oldest and the largest ticket retail chain in Moscow with 130 outlets; and Arena Group is a sport ticketing processing supplier.

Ticketland employees around 400 people, and claims that more than 2 million tickets for more than 40,000 events are marketed annually via its outlets and internet platforms. Its turnover is said to have exceeded $120 million in 2013. Part of its revenue comes from a 10% charge on tickets sold to consumers, so pretty old school in that aspect. The company’s sales channels include 130 retail box offices (owned and through partners), online booking, call centers and e-ticketing.

Meanwhile, it is e-ticketing where Ticketland appears to see future growth and consolidation. The company has already implemented e-ticket platforms at 120 venues in Moscow so that e-tickets purchased via ticketland.ru can be redeemed at those venues. In addition, more than 90 venues use the ERP platform provided by Ticketland, which of course supports e-ticketing out of the box.

The announcement is also talking up synergies between Ticketland and other online marking companies iTech Capital has invested in, which include SeoPult, iContext, and Garpun. The fund’s Managing Partner, Gleb Davidyuk, says in a statement: “Ticketland is a good consolidation of the strongest tech and retail players in a field of ticketing. As a value added investor we are happy to provide the company with new opportunities for their growth via marketing synergy with key online marketing players in the fund’s portfolio.”