Viagogo Irish profits double
Pre-tax profits at the Irish arm of controversial secondary ticket-selling website Viagogo more than doubled to €262,796 last year.
Newly-filed accounts for VGL Support Services Ireland Ltd show that the company’s Irish revenues increased by 50% in 2017 to €5.4m.
The Limerick-based business operates a call centre for Viagogo customers.
Last year it increased its employee numbers from 88 people to 125, which boosted staff costs by nearly 41% to €3.15m.
Viagogo has been in hot water of late, particularly in the UK, coming under pressure for allegedly selling touted tickets for events on its website and misleading customers via its advertising.
The latter charge was recently rejected by Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority.
Sellers on Viagogo’s website are currently charging €999 for tickets for Ireland’s upcoming rugby international against New Zealand at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium, while a ticket for one of U2’s November concerts at the nearby 3Arena has a price tag of €877 attached on the website.
Last year, in a submission to the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport during consultation on the resale of tickets for entertainment and sporting events in Ireland, Viagogo said that 75% of tickets on its website sell for a price above the face value of the ticket and 25% of tickets sell at or below the face value price.
The firm stated that 90% of sellers on Viagogo’s platform sell fewer than 10 tickets per year.
“The overwhelming majority of tickets listed do, in fact, sell. The tickets that don’t sell are typically those listed at high and unrealistic prices, which are those that are often reported in sensationalist media articles,” the company said.
Viagogo said it helped tackle ticket fraud by ensuring that only legitimate sellers were allowed on its platform. It also argued that preventing the resale of tickets would be “unfair” and would “undermine a consumer’s right to sell on their property”.
“If a consumer has purchased a ticket, it should be theirs to sell if they cannot use it, as with any other goods. We understand that the overwhelming majority of consumers agree with this view and do not agree that an event organiser should have the right to dictate what they do with a ticket,” it said.
