Goals Soccer Centres takes tax fight into extra time

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Goals, which runs 42 centres and hosts 130,000 players a week, has been landed with an extra VAT bill by the Revenue which could cost it an extra £625,000 a year in sales and profits.

The bill left revenues flat for the first six months of this year, although they rose 3% stripping out the impact of the tax grab.

The dispute centres on the treatment of block booking pitches for league games, which the taxman decided in February was subject to the standard 20% rate rather than being VAT exempt.

Goals has appealed against the HMRC decision and is confident of winning, but a resolution of the dispute is nine months away and the firm will stump up the extra cash until then.

The operator said the impact on cash flow was "unlikely to be material" but the City marked down the shares 5.6p to 123p.

Brewin Dolphin analyst Sahill Shan said the tax bill accounted for around 6% of profits, but added that the sport remains popular despite pressure on consumer spending elsewhere.

He said: "Given the recent negative news from the retail sector it is worth pointing out the Goals' like-for-likes in May and June continued to be positive."