Some of the UK’s most prolific and successful ticket touts appear to be rebranding their organisations as the industry braces for investigations by the competition watchdog and the taxman in the UK.
Moves among touts to alter their public profiles follow increased scrutiny, including an inquiry by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) into whether they are breaking the law by failing to disclose their identity on ticket resale sites. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is also examining the industry after MPs on the Commons culture, media and sport select committee demanded an inquiry into touts’ tax affairs.
The glare of publicity has prompted a flurry of activity among the most powerful operators, who have developed a stranglehold on tickets for in-demand events, such as an upcoming tour by U2 and the hip-hop musical Hamilton.
Andrew Newman, revealed as one of the UK’s most successful touts in an investigation by the Observer, has since changed his company’s name from Newman Corporation to North Financial Group (NFG) and has also deleted his Twitter account.
Newman, who did not return requests for comment, recently posted accounts at Companies House showing that NFG had assets of £1.6m in 2015, up from £1.1m the previous year.
It is not possible to tell how much profit Newman made because his company is still small enough to be exempt from filing detailed accounts.
Peter Hunter, the man behind major touting firm Ticket Wiz, has also changed the name of his company, from Ticket Wiz to BZZ.
The change took place on 21 December, two days after the CMA said it planned to investigate the secondary ticketing industry.
The regulator is investigating allegations that touts are breaching consumer law by failing to provide their details when they sell a ticket on secondary websites such as Viagogo, StubHub, GetMeIn and Seatwave.
Another of the UK’s most successful touting firms is 1st Choice Tickets, now known as WRT Services.
The change of name happened three weeks after MPs on the culture select committee promised an inquiry into ticket abuse and said they would ask HMRC to look into the industry.
In some cases, touts have removed tickets from resale websites altogether after the sites published their details in an attempt to show they are complying with consumer law.
One company, Tickets2Go2, listed 96 tickets for Take That’s upcoming tour on resale site GetMeIn for a combined £59,000, compared with their face value of £6,240.
Shortly after the Guardian contacted GetMeIn, owned by Ticketmaster, the company’s tickets were removed from the website.
The owner of Tickets2Go2, Kent-based Aaron Colbourne, did not return requests for comment.
In some cases, touts have responded to increased attention by listing their company information and contact details alongside tickets.
But none who were contacted by the Guardian agreed to discuss the touting industry on the record. One tout, who asked not to be named, said: “It’s not as if I’m supplying something people can’t go without like housing or food. It’s just entertainment put on for commercial gain.”
When the CMA launched its inquiry, it said that three out of four resale sites were now complying with the requirement to publish sellers’ information.
But research by the Guardian shows that in many cases the information is incomplete or inaccurate.
More than 20 tickets for a U2 concert at Twickenham stadium this summer are listed on StubHub for a combined £7,500 but the name of the firm selling the ticket is not revealed.
However, the London address used is the same as that of Double 8 Tickets, a website currently offering U2 tickets and owned by Raymond Sullivan. He did not respond to a request for comment.
In other cases, tickets are advertised as being sold by companies that are not registered at Companies House, or listed with a non-existent VAT number.
Many touts simply do not publish any of their details at all on secondary websites, despite consumer laws requiring them to do so.
While there are dozens of companies operating in the touting world, in practice there are just a few hundred major players, often known as “brokers” or “power sellers” by resale websites where they ply their trade.
Such websites even offer these touts “broker tools”, computer programs to help them manage their stocks of tickets.
One ticket listed on StubHub for an Adele concert at Wembley Stadium includes a note, presumably directed to the resale site rather than consumers, that reads: “Can you please provide us with a broker tool?”
StubHub did not respond to a request for information about broker tools.
A representative of the website told MPs last year that it does not “police or monitor” whether touts using its site comply with the law by publishing their details.
At the same evidence session, StubHub and Ticketmaster said that while they make it possible for seller to publish their details, it is up to the touts themselves to do so.
Secondary sites, which take a commission of up to 25% on ticket sales, have previously been accused of having too close a relationship with touts.
Such close relationships help touts make the best possible profit from resale and leave fans even more exposed to buying from these secretive entrepreneurs at massive mark-ups.
