20 Nov 2008

IRIS, the largest privately owned software company in the UK, has announced the acquisition of ts.com, developers of online ticketing solutions for a wide range of ticketing requirements including festivals, sports events, theatres, visitor attractions, travel and car parking.

The acquisition marks the next stage of IRIS’ goal to expand its ticketing capabilities. Combining the existing
IRIS TALENT ticketing solutions with ts.com will allow IRIS to expand its online ticketing capability beyond its major presence in large sports clubs and arenas to include important new vertical markets.

ts.com has an excellent reputation for its easy-to-use and reliable ticketing solutions and an established and loyal customer base. Notable clients include The National Trust, The Red Bull Flugtag, The Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, Arriva Group and Earl’s Court & Olympia Parking.

Glenn Jackson, Managing Director of IRIS TALENT, commented “There is huge growth potential for online ticketing simply because it is the easiest and most convenient way to purchase event tickets. The ts.com ticketing solutions are entirely complementary to our current offerings - both for smaller sports stadia and to enable us to enter a number of new vertical markets; a factor that will undoubtedly strengthen our ability to satisfy a wider range of needs.”

Mark Ellis, Managing Director of ts.com, commented “We are delighted that ts.com has become part of IRIS. For some time, we have been searching for a way to develop further as part of a larger organisation with the resources, financial backing, service commitment and culture to increase our growth rate in the online ticketing market.”

“We have been particularly impressed that in all previous IRIS acquisitions the group’s emphasis has always been on ensuring “business as usual” for existing customers and we look forward to the further development of the ts.com ticketing product range with the support and resources that IRIS can provide.”

About IRIS TALENT

IRIS TALENT is the only fully integrated management system for sports club and venues that puts the customer at the heart of the operation and provides a ‘holistic’ view of all related transactions.

IRIS TALENT Sport is used by numerous blue-chip clients to manage ticketing, web sales, CRM, automated telephone sales, corporate sales and hospitality, membership, loyalty, merchandising and mail order, financials and reporting.

Customers include Premiership Clubs; Manchester City, Everton, Liverpool, Hull, Newcastle and Sunderland, Clubs from the Coca Cola Football Leagues,  numerous Rugby League and Rugby Union Clubs, National and International Sports Arenas, Governing Bodies and Membership Associations.

IRIS TALENT Sport has been awarded Football League CRM approved supplier status following an impartial and thorough review of the market for the member clubs and compliments our market leading position with 75% of the Premier League using IRIS software.

This complete and robust solution withstands the increasingly challenging demands of web selling and ticketing and allows clubs to achieve a fast ROI, best demonstrated by customer retention rates of 95%, which are recognised as some of the highest in the software industry.