New research has suggested that almost three-quarters of StubHub UK arena listings come from just three sellers.
An investigation by anti-touting campaign group FanFair Alliance found that 72 per cent of all tickets listed on StubHub UK for arena events in early June came from three bulk sellers.
The research identified 50,272 tickets listed on the secondary ticketing website for events at UK arena venues including London’s O2, Manchester’s Co-op Live, Glasgow’s OVO Hydro and Birmingham’s Utilita Arena.
According to the report, the three sellers were Ticket Evolution, Your Ticket Delivery and PCE. Ticket Evolution was said to account for 40.9 per cent of the listings analysed, followed by Your Ticket Delivery with 19.5 per cent and PCE with 10.6 per cent.
FanFair Alliance has alleged that the findings point to large-scale professional resale activity and possible speculative ticketing, where tickets are listed for sale before the seller has secured them.
The campaign group said it had contacted StubHub UK about more than 20,000 tickets listed by Ticket Evolution, and those listings were then removed from the platform shortly afterwards.
Adam Webb, campaign manager at FanFair Alliance, told IQ: “Incredibly, even after removing thousands of Ticket Evolution listings, we are still finding masses of dubious-looking tickets from dubious-looking touts.”
“Such unlawful and anti-consumer practices are not isolated to StubHub International. They are endemic across multiple ticket resale websites.”
He added: “It’s time for a root-and-branch investigation into the entire ‘secondary ticketing’ sector, and for the government to fast-track their plans to put fans first and ban ticket touting for good.”
StubHub International said it has “systems in place to prevent speculative ticket sales on our UK platform”, adding that it maintains “a comprehensive framework of controls to ensure listings are valid and sellers adhere to applicable rules.”
The company also said professional sellers are labelled as “traders”, with address details provided, and that any non-compliant ticket listing is removed.
“Sellers who repeatedly breach our policies may be suspended or banned,” it added.
StubHub also said: “Every order on our platform is backed by our 100 per cent guarantee, which means in the rare scenario that there is an issue with a ticket, we will provide a replacement or a full refund.”
The findings come amid continued pressure on the UK government to introduce tougher rules on secondary ticketing.
Last November, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy confirmed plans to make it illegal for tickets to be resold for more than their original cost, with resale platforms also set to face limits on the fees they can charge.
Asked how this will be enforced, Nandy told NME: “There will be powers for the CMA [Competition And Markets Authority] to be able to fine platforms up to 10 per cent of their annual income. If they’re not complying, the CMA will intervene and it could result in multi-million pound fines for rogue firms, wherever they’re based in the world.
“If a global business is targeting UK consumers, regardless of where they’re headquartered, the CMA will have the power to be able to find them if they’re not compliant with our laws.”
Outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer also vowed in May to “stamp out ticket touts for good” and “make this happen as soon as possible”, writing in a letter to music fans that Labour would “protect fans so they can keep more of their hard-earned money in their pockets”.
However, the music industry later reacted with disappointment after the King’s Speech included only a draft bill on ticket touting, meaning the proposed measures will go through further consultation before becoming full legislation.
UK Music has warned that it could delay action until at least the 2027/28 parliamentary session, while calling for no further delay and no dilution of the proposed measures.
Earlier this year, artists including Dua Lipa, Coldplay, Radiohead, PJ Harvey, Sam Fender and New Order signed an open letter calling for an end to “rip-off” ticket resale practices.
The letter warned that exploitative secondary ticketing was “draining money from the live music ecosystem” and making it harder for fans to attend shows at fair prices.
