• Foresight increases stake in Spektrix, the industry’s leading enterprise software solution for the arts sector
• Growth capital will enable the business to capitalise on new opportunities following the reopening of the arts sector

Click here to access the announcement as a PDF.

London, 01 March 2021: Foresight Group LLP (“Foresight”), a leading listed infrastructure and private equity investment manager, is pleased to announce a £2 million follow-on investment into Spektrix Limited (“Spektrix” or “the Company”), to support further growth opportunities and to continue the excellent work the Company is doing in the arts sector, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Founded in 2007, Spektrix was an early pioneer in bringing cloud technology to the arts. It is now the UK industry’s leading SaaS solution, encompassing ticketing, marketing, fundraising, analytics and customer relationship management (CRM). It has been recognised as one of the UK’s fastest growing technology companies by the Sunday Times TechTrack 100 and FT Future 100 and since Foresight’s original investment in December 2018, Spektrix has continued to grow its customer base at a rate of 20% per annum.

Although it has been an extraordinarily difficult time for the arts industry, with few events taking place and ticket sales being extremely suppressed, Spektrix has continued to win new customers in the UK such as the Royal Exchange in Manchester, and in the US and Canada, where the Company just had a record year of new customer wins.

The Company has supported the sector as a whole during this period of economic uncertainty. This includes the launch of a free ‘Ticket Converter Tool’ in response to the mass cancellation of live events, allowing ticket holders to receive credit notes for future bookings or donate to performing arts organisations rather than receive a ticket refund, raising millions for the arts industry at a time of need. More recently the business has released thought leadership papers and strategic insights on re-opening as well as product functionality for socially-distanced theatre seating.

Since Foresight’s original investment, the senior management team and board have been strengthened, with Mark Redwood joining as Chairman. Mark has brought a wealth of experience having previously chaired a number of SaaS businesses that have grown, sold and floated. The ambitious team is focused on pushing through the current pandemic, continuing to build their market leading product offering and returning to growth once more.

Commenting on the investment, Michael Nabarro, CEO of Spektrix, said: “We’re delighted to continue our strategic partnership with Foresight.  It has been a challenging year as a SaaS business serving the performing arts, but Foresight has been behind us the whole way and this follow-on investment is testament to that.  It will allow us to grow again sooner than we otherwise would have been able to and allows us to be even more optimistic about what the post-pandemic future holds.”

Matthew Evans-Young, Senior Investment Manager at Foresight, added: “The last year has been extremely challenging for everyone, particularly in the performing arts. The Spektrix team has continued to impress us with the way they have responded to the challenge. The level of support which Spektrix provides to its customers and the wider industry is evidenced by its retention and new wins during this period, and we’re excited to continue our support as Spektrix becomes the platform of choice in North America, as it did in the UK a number of years ago.”

 

ENDS

For more information contact:

Citigate (PR to Foresight):

Patricia De Bidegain: foresight@citigatedewerogerson.com / +44 (0) 7921 353 825

Will Easton: foresight@citigatedewerogerson.com / +44 (0) 7860 753146

Spektrix:

Ben Park: ben.park@spektrix.com / +44 (0) 7901 915 951

 

Notes to Editors

About Foresight Group LLP (“Foresight”):

Foresight is a leading listed infrastructure and private equity investment manager which has been managing investment funds on behalf of institutions and retail clients for more than 35 years.

Foresight has c.£6.8 billion of Assets Under Management across a number of funds, including Listed Vehicles, Limited Partnerships, Enterprise Investment Schemes (EISs), Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs), Inheritance Tax Solutions using Business Relief (BR) and Open-Ended Investment Companies (OEICs).

Foresight’s Private Equity Team, comprising over 30 investment professionals, manages c. £700 million in a portfolio of more than 100 companies and pursues four discrete but complementary investment styles: Venture, Impact, Growth and Replacement Capital through its growing regional office network.

Foresight was a commended finalist in the Best Venture Capital Trust Provider category at the 2020 Investment Life & Pensions Moneyfacts Awards.  Foresight was named ‘Fund Manager of the Year’ at the PLC Awards last year, ‘Generalist VCT of the Year’ at the Investment Week Tax Efficiency Awards 2018/19 and was a finalist in the 2018 Unquote British Private Equity Awards as Venture and Growth Capital House of the Year.

Foresight’s principal office is in London with regional UK offices in Edinburgh, Manchester, Nottingham, Milton Keynes, Leicester, Cambridge and Guernsey and international offices in Sydney, Rome, Madrid, and Luxembourg.

www.foresightgroup.eu  

About Spektrix

Spektrix combines a powerful CRM platform with the expertise to help cultural organisations make the most of it. Spektrix’s technological expertise and profound sector understanding help ticketing, marketing and fundraising professionals build audience relationships that last and grow. This quality of service has made it the leading platform for customer relationship management for the cultural sector in the UK and Ireland, working with clients including the Barbican Centre – Europe’s largest arts venue – Town Hall Symphony Hall Birmingham, National Galleries of Scotland and Nottingham Playhouse. Spektrix has a rapidly growing client base in the US and Canada, it now works with over 450 theatres, music venues, cinemas and museums globally. North American clients include St Ann’s Warehouse, New York, Lookingglass Theatre, Chicago, The Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto and Confederation Centre of The Arts, Charlottetown, Canada.

Spektrix believes that opportunities for people to experience entertainment events are fundamental to a high quality of life and the health of our communities. Its mission is to create technology that enables arts and cultural organisations to engage and deepen relationships with the broadest range of audiences.

www.spektrix.com