Lyte Acquires Assets of Insolvent Festicket and Event Genius
The U.S. firm commits to the "protection of both the Festicket employees and the clients that they have served."
Weeks after its moratorium period ended, troubled U.K. ticketing companies Festicket and Event Genius have sold their assets to U.S. ticketing company Lyte, according to a press release from Lyte.
Festicket and Event Genius had been hoping for a “rescue deal” after entering a moratorium period beginning on Aug. 17, according to filings with U.K. Companies House. That moratorium was to last until Sept. 15, taking advantage of a U.K. pandemic era law allowing insolvent companies a respite from creditors while pursuing an acquisition deal. But five days after the filing, monitor Ben Woodthorpe with administrator Resolve Group ended the moratorium period saying it would not “likely lead to the rescue of the company.”
Launched in 2011 by Zach Sabban, Jonathan Younes and Jerome Elfassy, Festicket was created to help fans book concert tickets and travel accommodations online. In 2019, Festicket purchased Event Genius.
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In their statement announcing the asset purchase, Lyte officials said “fundamental to Lyte’s focus throughout the acquisition process was the protection of both the Festicket employees and the clients that they have served. With administrators now undertaking the relevant processes for vendors and clients of Festicket, Lyte is committed to finding ways to reconcile and rebuild with affected promoter clients for the exciting future ahead.”
“All former clients of Festicket have been reached out to and many have begun signing with Lyte, including Slammin Events in the UK and Vic Falls Carnival in Zimbabwe. More signings across the United Kingdom, Europe and Australia will be confirmed in the coming days,” a press release from Lyte reads
“Ten years ago I visited London for the 2012 Olympic games. The events were sold out, there were no tickets on the streets but the venues were half-full. I was just a fan but that empty seats problem stuck with me and led me to start Lyte a couple years later,” said Ant Taylor, Lyte’s CEO and founder. “To be launching Lyte’s international expansion from the place where it all started, is truly special. Our company vision is to make the live events e-commerce experience magical for fans and event creators, the world over…This is a step in that direction. Now the real work begins.”
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