POWERLEAGUE has continued to snap up smaller operators across the UK as it shrugs off the effects of the consumer slowdown.
The Paisley-based firm, which runs more than 450 five-a-side football pitches across the UK, said it had added a further ten to the total after buying Soccer Sensations, a single site business based in Stockton-on-Tees near Middlesbrough.
Chief e
xecutive Sean Tracey said yesterday that the company had been in informal talks with Soccer Sensations and had finally completed the deal at a "sensible" price.
It is the second acquisition the company has made this year, after paying £17.4 million for 69 pitches owned by retailer JJB Sports in February.
Powerleague also moved yesterday to reassure investors worried about the effects on the company of the economic slowdown.
Chairman Claude Littner said trading in the year to 28 June had been in line with expectations and the outlook for the future was positive.
"We are confident that the new year will be one of further revenue and profit growth and the outlook remains positive," Littner said in a statement.
Tracey said that participation remained strong, with the low cost per game and peer pressure from team mates making players unlikely to pull out.
However some signs of a slowdown in spending continue.
Tracey said the trend towards lower bar revenue, which began last year, had continued across the group.
"People probably are a little bit more sensitive about their additional spend but the good thing is the pitch revenue, which is the core of the business, is holding up well," he said.
Tracey said there appeared to be a health element to the change, with a fall in bar sales following the implementation of the smoking ban south of the Border.
There had also been an increase in sales of sports drinks.
He added: "People seem to be making the conscious decision to drink less during the week and are treating it (a 5-a-side session] a bit more like a trip to the gym than a night out."
Around 125,000 people use the company's pitches every week.
As well as acquisitions, the company opened four new centres during the financial year it has just completed – in Cardiff, Old Street in the City of London, Milton Keynes and Shrewsbury
Tracey added that he expected a "significant" financial contribution from the former JJB sites later this year, with a rebranding coinciding with a new promotional campaign for the pitches, which are mainly based in the north of England.
Shares in Powerleague added 1.5p or 4.4 per cent on the statement to 45.75p.
Analysts at Altium Securities said the statement was "very reassuring", predicting the company will report a pre-tax profit of £4.9m in the year to 28 June.
The full article contains 480 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
