Scottish five-a-side football venue operator Goals Soccer Centres made no mention of a widely expected boost from the 2014 Fifa World Cup in its latest trading update yesterday.
But the alternative investment market-listed company said its “path to success” business plan was delivering results.
Although World Cups keep millions of people at home watching TV, they also tend to lead to huge surge in participation in the sport – whether it be on local playing fields or indoor venues like those operated by Goals.
The East Kilbride firm saw a post World Cup bounce after the 2010 event in South Africa, and is looking for the same kind of impact from the tournament currently taking place in Brazil.
The company currently has 44 sites throughout the UK, including one in Aberdeen. It also has one in Los Angeles, California.
Its trading update – delivered in advance of first half results on September 3 – outlined plans for another new site this year and three more, including one in the US, during 2015.
It also said its “path to success” initiative had led to significant operational improvements across the business, driving sales and profits growth in the UK and the US.
Trading in the first half of 2014 was in-line with the board’s expectations, with overall sales increasing by 3%, compared with a year earlier, to £17million and the like-for-like figure also up by 3%.
The company recently raise about £11million through a share placement in order to accelerate the “controlled” roll-out of new centres and improve its capital structure.
It said yesterday it was in advanced talks about a long-term loan, worth £42.5million, to replace existing banking arrangements and provide a “significant funding contingency” for the company.
Goals also said it planned to launch a new mobile/handheld device app in late August, allowing customers to make bookings, organise teams and manage their payments.