The five-a-side soccer centre operator is hoping that a “Wimbledon-effect” will send players streaming into its 33 sites, if domestic teams, which could still include Scotland depending on results later this week, do well in next year’s competition.
Keith Rogers, chief executive of the East Kilbride-based company said: “If England does well in the World Cup there is a great opportunity for our business. If Scotland get there and do well that is even better.”
He went on: “If England win the World Cup it would be fantastic for our business. If they get knocked out at the beginning it will have no effect.”
Shares in Goals soared 16p or 8.3% yesterday to 209p after the company reported sales are holding up through the consumer spending downturn.
Like-for-like sales were 1% up for the first six months of the year compared to 2008, after snow earlier this year knocked two percentage points off the total. It reported a “softening” of sales over the summer but said the trend had returned to previous levels.
Rogers said: “Rather than, as in the past when people took a two-week holiday in the summer, this year a lot of people stayed at home and took long weekends away over the course of the summer.
“The impact meant that guys trying to get teams together had more difficulty finding players.”
Overall sales were up 12% to £12.9m while pre-tax profit ticked up 5% to £4.8m.
After completing an £11m share placing in June, the company said it was on track to meet its increased new opening schedule of six new centres a year.
Its joint venture in the US has also secured a site in Los Angeles and has applied for planning permission with construction due to begin next year.
It claims to have 13 other sites in the pipeline if this is a success.
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