Press Release

UK entrepreneur set to revolutionise ticket market

28 February 2007

Worth over $6 billion in the States, the secondary ticket market is set to explode in the UK with today’s launch of a new service – TickEx.com.

TickEx.com is set to revolutionise ticket buying by offering consumers a trading platform for purchasing sought after live-entertainment tickets that are often sold out before most fans have heard about the shows.

British entrepreneur Richard Robinson is the brains behind the start-up company and has high hopes for the site, namely it becoming the first site individuals go to world-wide to find tickets for live events.

Not perturbed by the presence of players like eBay and myticketmarket.com, Robinson is sure TickEx.com will offer unique selling propositions and embrace the fragmented competitive landscape.

Robinson explains, “TickEx.com will provide a single online destination for finding, buying, and selling tickets. Our customer values their time and doesn’t want to spend countless hours on the internet searching for tickets only to discover that an event is sold out.”

“Our customer also wants a safe and secure transaction. We ensure that tickets transacted on the site are genuine and guarantee ticket delivery in time for the event.”

An MBA was the catalyst for a career change for Robinson who has come from a chemical engineering background. Providing him with more than the basic general management skills he needed to head a start-up company, the MBA introduced Richard to an impressive network of mentors and coaches who gave him the courage to go out on his own.

“Through my MBA I met inspirational people who provided me with the motivation and guidance to change the direction of my career,” he said. “I’m building a unique web-based trading platform – something I would never have dreamed of doing, or had the skills to be successful in, prior to my MBA.”

Richard gained his Masters in Chemical Engineering at Nottingham University before joining ICI Acrylics. He decided to do his MBA after the business unit he was working in was first sold off when the share price lost value, and then became a dynamic commercial and operational outfit under private equity ownership.

“I realised that I wanted to have the ability to turn a business around like that; the MBA promised to deliver the leap I needed in skills, knowledge and contacts,” he said.

In 2003 Richard was accepted to study an MBA at HEC in Paris, the funding of which came via a scholarship granted by the Sainsbury Management Fellows (SMF). SMF is a scheme created by Lord Sainsbury of Turville to champion and fund further study for Britain’s brightest engineers. Its aim is to equip highly creative and innovative thinkers with broad business skills to enable them to compete for leadership positions and encourage their entrepreneurial skills.

SMF President Dan Mutadich said: “Richard is a great example of what engineers are capable of achieving given the right mix of engineering and business skills, we wish him all the very best with TickEx.com and are pleased to be a stepping stone for him to succeed in the business world.”

- ENDS -

Please contact Golley Slater Public Relations, for interviews, photos or further information:

Rebecca Johnston, rjohnston@golleyslater.co.uk / 020 7255 6432

Anna Ford, aford@golleyslater.co.uk / 020 7255 6437

Notes to editors:

TickEx.com

Ticket Exchange LLC is incorporated in Delaware, USA, with a sales & marketing subsidiary in the UK.

The website just launched a fully functional beta version of its web service.

Ticket Exchange provides a trading and fulfilment platform for tickets for live events with a focus on the European Market. This market is estimated at 10-billion euros. The security and buyer/seller guarantee is enabled online (www.TickEx.com) by facilitating transactions in such a way that the buyer and seller never have to transact directly with each other. Ticket Exchange processes all payments and deliveries, guaranteeing sellers receive their payment for genuine tickets and buyers receive valid tickets in a timely fashion.

The Sainsbury Management Fellows

The Sainsbury Management Fellowship Scheme was founded by Lord Sainsbury of Turville in 1987 to help the country’s top engineers acquire the knowledge and skills that will take them into the boardroom of Britain’s blue chip companies or set up enterprises that will boost both local and national economies. The scheme is administered by the Royal Academy of Engineering and each year selects 10-14 young engineers who have exceptional academic qualifications and leadership potential for scholarship to study at the world’s top business schools. The SMF has already spawned 220 such people, 25 of whom have established successful businesses. www.smf.org.uk

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