Tom Giles on sport, hospitality and building a business between Bath and Dubai
Cofounder and Managing Director of Seatsy, the premium sports and music hospitality marketplace. 13+ years inside MCC at Lord’s, Chelsea FC and Bath Rugby. Dad of three, angel investor, and the runner who did nine marathons in nine days for his son Jenson.
Honest, energetic and practical. Tom records remotely or in person in Bath and Dubai, and is happy to go long form.
Premium hospitality, done properly
What people actually buy when they book a box, a lounge or a full weekend away, why trust is the whole product, and why Seatsy only sells hospitality sourced from official and certified resellers.
Building a marketplace from Dubai for the world
Launching in 2026, becoming an Official Ticket Seller approved by Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism, and building a UK base in Bath.
Sports partnerships from the inside
Lessons from his Bath Rugby years as Head of Business Development, with partners such as Viñalba, Omnia Group Services, Watches of Bath, Veezu, Rengen Development and Windsor Hill Mortgages, and what rights holders get wrong about hospitality.
Founder life between the UK and Dubai
Running one business across two time zones and two very different markets, the Gulf appetite for live sport, and building a team in Dubai and Bath.
Nine marathons in nine days for Jenson
Running from Bath to Land’s End for CureSHANK, raising awareness of Phelan McDermid Syndrome, and what an endurance challenge teaches you about pace, patience and people. Now training for a full Ironman.
From employee to founder
Leaving a job in sport, building Thrive Sports Co into a profitable tour operator, and selling it to Seatsy, where its tour business became Seatsy Travel.
Angel investing as an operator
Why Tom cofounded Investment Group Bath, the city’s only angel group, and what founders can learn from sitting on the investor side of the table.
Mental health in sport and business
Tom cocreated Bath Rugby’s Tunnel Mentality podcast for Mental Health Awareness Week in 2021. A good fit for wellbeing and leadership shows.
Coming soon · January 2027
Flat Out with Tom Giles
Tom’s own weekly podcast: long form conversations with athletes, founders, parents and people with extraordinary stories, on how they go flat out at everything that matters without burning out. There’s no finish line.
Use either bio in show notes, event listings or introductions. Please link to tomgiles.co and seatsy.com.
Short bio · 50 words
Tom Giles is cofounder and Managing Director of Seatsy, the Dubai based marketplace for premium sport and music hospitality. Before Seatsy he spent 13 years in senior commercial roles at MCC at Lord’s, Chelsea FC and Bath Rugby, cofounded Investment Group Bath, and ran nine marathons in nine days for CureSHANK.
Long bio · 150 words
Tom Giles is cofounder and Managing Director of Seatsy, the premium sports and music hospitality marketplace he built with Lewis Allsopp. Seatsy launched on 24 March 2026, is based in Dubai with a UK base in Bath, and is approved by Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism as an Official Ticket Seller.
Tom has spent more than 13 years in sport, starting at MCC at Lord’s and moving on to senior commercial roles at Chelsea FC and Bath Rugby, where he rose from Community Engagement Manager to Head of Business Development. He then founded Thrive Sports Co, a profitable UK sports tour operator that Seatsy acquired in May 2026, and cofounded Investment Group Bath, the city’s only angel group.
A dad of three, Tom ran nine marathons in nine days from Bath to Land’s End in 2025 for CureSHANK and his son Jenson, who has Phelan McDermid Syndrome. He is now training for a full Ironman, and launches his own podcast, Flat Out with Tom Giles, in January 2027.
With Seatsy cofounder Lewis Allsopp
BathRugbyTV
