Deal makes Dash major player

NICK SCHEMBRI: Sold half-share in firm.

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The chief executive of Wellington ticketing company Dash Tickets, Nick Schembri, has pulled off his first international deal at the age of 23, selling a half-share of the business to Ministry of Sound's Australian franchisee for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Schembri set up the business, previously known as Dazzle Tickets, with fellow Victoria University graduate Christopher Smith in 2009.

The company, which has eight staff and is housed in the Creative HQ technology incubator, has handled the sale of 161,498 tickets to 769 events. Schembri said Christchurch City Council saved tens of thousands of dollars using its system to ticket the Christchurch Arts Festival which closed this month.

An online self-service portal lets customers arrange ticketing for small, one-off events and promote them through social media such as Facebook. But Dash is now managing ticketing for larger events and venues, bringing it into competition with market leader Ticketek. It charges ticket-buyers a fee of between $1.50 and $4 a ticket, depending on the ticket price, with no charge for event organisers.

It has set up a loyalty card system for the Wellington Saints basketball team that can be used to get discounts at bars.

Dash will expand into Australia next year, following Ministry of Sound's investment, Schembri said. "It is our launchpad into Australia. We are really excited to be working with such a reputable brand."

Richard Mergler, director of the Australian franchisee of the British-based entertainment company, said it had been impressed with Dash and its technology platform. "We already have a successful mix of recordings, artist management, touring, events and music publishing, so event ticketing is a natural extension."

A sister company of the franchisee runs the mobile music download services of Telstra, Optus, Virgin Mobile and Boost Mobile in Australia. Schembri said the tie-up would help Dash develop software that lets people buy tickets via mobile phones, for example by text message.

- © Fairfax NZ News