Goals is on the ball as profits rise
FIVE-a-side football firm Goals Soccer Centres yesterday showed it was giving the downturn a kicking, reporting a five per cent rise in pre-tax profits.
The group posted pre-tax profits of £3.9m for the six months ended 30 June, with total sales lifting 12 per cent to £12.9m.
Managing director Keith Rogers, who founded the first five-a-side firm in 1987, said that its core business remained strong, due to the enduring appeal of football.
“It’s to do with the strength of the business. It’s relatively low cost for people to play, less than a pint and a half, and sociable – people will cut out other costs, before they start cutting their weekly kick-a-bout.”
The group said that despite robust trading it was maintaining a “cautiously optimistic outlook”.
Goals plans to open four more sites this financial year, six next year, but believes there is “no upper limit to how much the business can expand”. The firm said it would open its first US centre in Los Angeles next year.