LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Celebrate 20 years of London Theatre Direct (LTD) with unbeatable promotions for top London shows this summer as part of #LTD20 and meet the latest addition to its family of leading ticketing brands — Tickets.co.uk.
After 20 incredible years in London’s West End, the launch of Tickets.co.uk will enable LTD to expand its inventory to encompass different ticketing sectors within the UK entertainment industry, including Theatre, Music, Experiences, Tours and Attractions, with plans developed for international roll-out in the near future.
Tickets.co.uk is built around London Theatre Direct’s robust API distribution platform offering customers the ability to find the top, most exciting experiences from around the world at the most affordable prices possible. With tens of millions of tickets on sale at any one time, Tickets.co.uk and the LTD family offer the very best availability and choice of tickets with a world-class booking experience.
This new phase for the company is being supported through investment from and partnership with Trafalgar Entertainment, which will foster both growth and diversification. Investors include Barings on behalf of clients and accounts managed by the financial services firm, Sir Howard Panter and Dame Rosemary Squire, Greg Dyke and Sir Richard Branson.
Of the new partnership and investment, Francis Hellyer, LTD CEO, said: “Having built the company from scratch over the last two decades, we are incredibly excited by this opportunity to work with other like-minded entrepreneurs and to cement our position as the front-running technology solution for London theatre tickets. In our 20th year, we are also thrilled to expand our ticketing family with this summer’s launch of Tickets.co.uk, a one-stop ticketing solution built around London Theatre Direct’s robust API, offering a wide selection of tickets to Theatre Shows, Events and Attractions.”
Emmanuel Ciolfi, LTD COO, added: “London Theatre Direct has always invested heavily in exploring creative new approaches to ticketing. This year we won the Ticketing Innovation Award at the Ticketing Business Awards for our London Theatre Direct Amazon Alexa skill. This new investment will allow us to devote ourselves further towards developing new ticketing solutions.”
In response to the announcement, Howard Panter and Rosemary Squire said: “Francis and Emmanuel are game-changers within the industry, and they have created one of the world’s most forward-thinking, technologically advanced and recognisable ticketing companies. We are delighted to be working with them on developing their business and this important new website.”
If you are looking for new and innovative ways to distribute your tickets and to reach new audiences, or if you’re interested in expanding your existing inventory to allow your customers to book the most exciting West End theatre tickets possible, then please don’t hesitate to contact us via e-mail at partnersolutions@londontheatredirect.com.
ENDS
Editor’s Notes:
London Theatre Direct
Established in 1999, London Theatre Direct is one of the UK’s leading ticket retailers and distributors. As one of the first companies to sell theatre tickets online in the UK, through to displaying interactive seating plans, connecting to multiple API systems and becoming the first ticket seller in the world to accept bitcoin, London Theatre Direct continues to innovate using new technologies. London Theatre Direct is a fully bonded official ticket retailer for all of London’s major theatres and is a full member of S.T.A.R. (Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers).
About Barings
Barings is a $325+ billion global financial services firm dedicated to meeting the evolving investment and capital needs of our clients and customers. Through active asset management and direct origination, we provide innovative solutions and access to differentiated opportunities across public and private capital markets. A subsidiary of MassMutual, Barings maintains a strong global presence with business and investment professionals located across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. Learn more at www.Barings.com.
Barings Private Equity/Real Assets
Barings Private Equity/Real Assets targets direct control investments in asset-based businesses in the infrastructure, intangible assets and natural resources sectors. The team focuses on assets with thematically-driven demand, and actively manages those assets to generate both current income and long-term value creation. Follow us on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/showcase/barings-alternative-investments.
