F1 champion Norris revs up with stake in premium tickets platform Seat Unique

Tuesday, 13 October 2026 13:22

By Mark Kleinman, City editor

Lando Norris, the reigning Formula One world champion, has become the latest sports star to join the illustrious share register of Seat Unique, the premium ticketing and hospitality platform.

Sky News has learnt that the McLaren Racing driver acquired a stake in Seat Unique as part of a £20m funding round agreed earlier this year.

Mr Norris's investment in the company was facilitated by the Players' Fund, an athlete-led venture capital vehicle which has also helped recruit Harry Kane and Ben Stokes as investors.

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Seat Unique is capitalising on consumers' appetite to spend money on upmarket live experiences, and has secured exclusive contracts with the organisers of events such as the UEFA Euro 2028 football tournament and the forthcoming fight between British boxers Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury.

The funding round in which Mr Norris participated was led by Nickleby Capital, a long-standing backer of the company and one of the UK's leading growth investors.

Seat Unique's investor base also includes the former England bowler Stuart Broad, model and television presenter Maya Jama, comedian Jack Whitehall, and the actor Daniel Kaluuya.

"The way fans experience live events has fundamentally changed," Robin Sherry, Seat Unique's chief executive, said.

"People want official access, unforgettable moments and complete confidence in how they buy them - that's exactly what we've built Seat Unique to deliver.

"Lando understands that better than anyone, which is why having him join us as an investor is such a powerful endorsement of where this business is heading."

The company's latest funding round represents another milestone as Mr Sherry and his colleagues target a valuation of over £500m.

The Nickleby Capital-led round followed the recent acquisitions of P1 Travel and Circuit Hospitality, which were designed to establish a platform combining premium ticketing, hospitality and travel for rights-holders, venues, artists, sports teams and fans.

A person close to Seat Unique said it was targeting £350m in annual sales within three years.

The business also has contracts with venues including Wembley Stadium, Manchester's Co-op Live arena and the 16 racecourses operated by Arena Racing.

Seat Unique is chaired by Richard Flint, the former SkyBet chief who also chairs investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown.

It markets original ticketing inventory, unlike secondary platforms, which have come under growing political pressure over their treatment of consumers.

Seat Unique is understood to be actively reviewing other acquisition and partnership opportunities.

It recently agreed a global distribution partnership with Trip.com Group, a deal which introduces premium live events as a category across Trip.com's platforms and constitutes Seat Unique's first major expansion into Asia-Pacific.

Sky News