U2’s Edge invests in ticketing start-up Coras

U2 guitarist the Edge is among the latest investors in Coras, an Irish start-up which enables ticket agencies to integrate inventory into third-party websites, allowing “customers to buy tickets for any event or activity through sites they already use”.

The Edge is one of several participants in a €1.9 million funding round, led by private-equity firm Atlantic Bridge and also including Hambro Perks and Elkstone Capital, ahead of the platform’s launch later this year.

Coras CEO Mark McLaughlin (pictured) comments: “We’re very happy to have Atlantic Bridge lead this investment combined with all the other investors that participated in the round. Their experience in launching and scaling global technology companies will prove invaluable to Coras.

“We believe that ticketing will no longer solely be the domain of traditional ticket agents but will broaden to encompass other market-leading brands”

“We believe that ticketing will no longer solely be the domain of traditional ticket agents but will broaden to encompass other market-leading brands, and we are looking forward to driving that transformation. If you’re a supplier such as a theatre, promoter, museum or sports team that wants to sell tickets through an increased distribution network or a distributor that wants to sell tickets with your core product or service, please get in touch as we would be excited to work with you.”

Coras’s initial ticket suppliers include Nimax Theatres and Ambassador Theatre Group/ATG Tickets. It has yet to announce any participating website distributors, although it says its “pool of inventory will be connected to some of the biggest online brands via a simple API integration, enabling these brands to sell tickets in addition to their core offering”.

In doing so, it says, the Dublin-based company will “move the industry from a static distribution model, where customers are forced to go to a limited number of websites, to a responsive model that matches consumers’ changing lifestyles”.

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