Anvil Arts

About Anvil Arts

Anvil Arts is one of the South East’s leading performing arts organisations, operating three unique venues in Basingstoke: The Anvil, The Haymarket and The Forge.

At the heart of the organisation is The Anvil, a world-class 1,400-seat concert hall renowned for its exceptional acoustics and ability to attract internationally acclaimed orchestras and performers. Alongside this flagship venue, The Haymarket provides a traditional 400-seat theatre space for drama, comedy and community productions, while The Forge offers a flexible 95-seat studio venue for smaller performances, workshops and events.

Together, the three venues welcome 200k visitors every year, creating a diverse programme of performances while continually seeking new ways to improve the audience experience and maximise secondary spend opportunities.

The Challenge

As Anvil Arts prepared to reopen following the COVID-19 pandemic, the organisation faced a critical technology challenge.

Its existing EPOS system was running on ageing hardware and software that was approaching end-of-life, leading to increased operational challenges and reliability concerns. With venues closed for almost 18 months, investing in a replacement system was an unavoidable but significant decision.

Rather than simply replacing existing technology, the team saw an opportunity to rethink how systems could work together to create a more connected operation.

At the same time, Anvil Arts had recently implemented Spektrix as its ticketing platform, and CrowdEngage revealing the benefits of cloud-based systems and integrated technology. The organisation wanted a solution that would not only modernise EPOS operations but also connect customer communications, interval ordering and venue reporting into a single ecosystem.

“It’s critical to have a provider that actually understands your business. I knew straight away that pointOne understood the processes involved. When I mention interval ordering, some EPOS providers don’t realise how complex, but how important, it actually is to our operation. We’ve got to get a thousand people through in 45 minutes before the performance, and then again in 20 minutes for their second drink. We don’t have long at all, and we’ve got to get things through fast.”

David Izzo, Operations & Audience Experience Manager

Why pointOne?

After evaluating multiple providers, pointOne stood out for its usability, flexibility and understanding of the unique operational requirements of theatres and performing arts venues.

Unlike generic hospitality systems, pointOne demonstrated a clear understanding of theatre-specific challenges, including interval ordering, audience flow management and the intense service windows that front-of-house teams must manage before performances and during intervals.

The integration between pointOne, Spektrix and CrowdEngage was particularly attractive, allowing Anvil Arts to create a seamless customer journey from ticket purchase through to food and beverage ordering.

By combining these systems, the organisation could automate event and product synchronisation, simplify customer communications and deliver a more personalised experience for audiences.

“Having both CrowdEngage and pointOne, that ticked all the boxes for us and made it seamless, absolutely seamless.” – David Izzo, Operations & Audience Experience Manager

Creating a Connected Customer Journey

One of the biggest improvements has been the transformation of interval and pre-show ordering.

Historically, interval orders were managed through manual processes that relied heavily on paper-based systems. While effective, the approach lacked flexibility and integration.

With pointOne and CrowdEngage, Anvil Arts created a fully connected ordering experience that enables customers to order ahead of time, receive automated communications and collect refreshments with minimal waiting.

The integrated workflow ensures that customer data, ticketing information and orders flow seamlessly between systems. Audience members receive pre-visit communications, can order drinks before arrival and receive notifications when their order is being prepared.

The result is a frictionless experience that improves convenience for customers while helping staff serve more people in limited service windows.

“I would recommend pointOne to any venue, having a provider that actually understands what your needs are as a customer and understands this industry is critical. This industry is so complex and I don’t think people realise that. There’s so many nuances that you wouldn’t get anywhere else. Having a piece of kit that can evolve with you, with an open API and future integrations, is really key.”

David Izzo, Operations & Audience Experience Manager

Empowering Staff & Increasing Operational Flexibility

Anvil Arts also embraced handheld technology as part of its implementation.

Initially introduced to provide flexibility during an uncertain reopening period, handheld devices quickly became an important part of venue operations.

The organisation now uses handheld devices for roaming sales, table service and temporary sales locations during high-volume events such as pantomime seasons.

The mobility provided by pointOne has allowed teams to adapt service operations to different venue layouts and audience requirements while maintaining fast, efficient transactions.

Equally important has been the ease of use for front-of-house staff. With many casual employees working only a limited number of shifts, the EPOS interface was deliberately structured to make products easy to locate and transactions simple to complete.

This has strengthened staff confidence whilst navigating the till’s functionality, allowing them to focus on customer service standards rather than technology.

Better Reporting Across Three Venues

Managing multiple venues requires accurate, detailed and accessible reporting.

Using pointOne’s head office reporting tools, Anvil Arts can now analyse sales performance across all three venues while drilling down into individual shows, genres, terminals and trading periods.

The organisation regularly uses spend-per-head reporting, venue comparisons, terminal analysis and profitability reporting to gain a deeper understanding of performance.

This visibility has enabled the team to make more informed commercial decisions, including changes to product ranges and service models that have reduced waste and improved profitability.

The ability to compare performances by show, artist and audience type has also provided valuable insight into customer behaviour and purchasing patterns.

“I’ve never been able to pull off the amount of detail from reports that I could get right now from pointOne.” – David Izzo, Operations & Audience Experience Manager

Supporting Growth Through Theatre Expertise

For Anvil Arts, the relationship with pointOne extends beyond software.

The organisation values working with a provider that understands the complexities of theatre operations and actively contributes to the sector through initiatives such as theatre roundtables and peer networking opportunities.

This industry knowledge has given the team confidence that the platform will continue to evolve alongside the changing needs of venues and audiences.

With an open API and growing ecosystem of integrations, pointOne provides the flexibility needed to support future innovation and operational development.

Looking Ahead

Anvil Arts continues to explore new ways to enhance the visitor experience and drive secondary spend.

The next phase of development includes trials of self-service kiosks within The Anvil to improve service accessibility, reduce queue abandonment and provide alternative ordering methods for customers who prefer a self-service experience.

The organisation also plans to explore additional opportunities to further enhance hospitality operations and create a more complete visitor journey.

The Result

Since implementing pointOne, Anvil Arts has transformed the way it manages hospitality operations across its venues.

By integrating EPOS, ticketing and customer engagement systems, the organisation has streamlined workflows, improved reporting, enhanced interval ordering and created a more seamless customer experience.

Most importantly, the technology works quietly in the background, enabling staff to focus on delivering exceptional service while audiences enjoy a smoother and more convenient visit.

For a venue focused on delivering world-class experiences, pointOne has become a key part of the operational infrastructure that supports both customer satisfaction and commercial success.