Future Ticketing gains entry to overseas markets as it eyes international growth

Future Ticketing, a software company which allows businesses to manage their own-branded ticketing system and sell directly to their customers, is targeting overseas markets in North America and the Middle East as it looks to continue its recent growth.

The company was founded in 2015 by Liam Holton, the chief executive officer, and Mark Cotter, chief technology officer, and currently employs 44 people. They currently have more than 360 clients across Ireland, the UK, North America, and Europe having taken on a further 77 new clients in 2023 so far.

“Our software enables venues and events to manage their own-branded ticketing system and sell tickets directly to their customers.

“Our platform allows event organisers to customise their ticketing and put on sale their events when they want to, access revenue pre-event, and plug-in their preferred partner platforms into one unified solution”, Holton told the Business Post.

The company was founded when Holton was working at Punchestown Racecourse and noticed a gap in the ticket system market.

“My team at Punchestown were looking for a new online ticketing system, which at the time was a new concept. We received presentations from eight ticketing companies. And none of them made the grade,” he said.

Holton said he understood what venues wanted certain characteristics in a ticketing system, including the ability to generate revenues from pre-sale tickets; for their customers not to incur third-party fees; and for the business to retain ownership of marketing data.

“Future Ticketing is currently doubling its business year-on-year through a focus on ticketing segment and international expansion. We are growing strongly in football where we have over 50 clients in five countries, while we are the leading provider of ticketing to horse racing in both the UK and Ireland,” Holton said.

Future Ticketing began as a start-up located in The Junction, an Offaly County Council enterprise centre based in Tullamore. Holton said it was the perfect place to start as it was able to attract staff from the Technological University of the Shannon.

Holton said that Enterprise Ireland’s high potential start-up unit (HPSU) was instrumental in helping the company manage its scaling.

“The HPSU programme was very valuable in providing an external framework against which we could benchmark our progress to that point and to provide guidance on how to manage the next phase of growth and scale-up,” he said.

Holton also credits the local Enterprise Ireland office in Manchester with helping them with their UK expansion and the opening of their base in the UK.

The company is focused on expanding internationally, including through the Middle Eastern football market as well as horse racing in the US. The company also has plans to make its first foray into the Canadian ice hockey market.