THE FORMER chief executive of football centres operator Goals, who one year ago moved to Los Angeles to spearhead the group’s US expansion, is leaving the business.
Goals revealed the departure of Keith Rogers as it reported a turnaround in sales, with revenue up 1.3 per cent to £33.4 million for the year ending December 31, following the roll-out of a wide-scale upgrade project.
The company declined to comment when asked if Mr Rogers would receive a pay-off.
In a trading update, Goals said the performance – in which like-for-like sales grew 0.6 per cent compared to a 6.3 per cent slide in 2015 – further demonstrated the “significant improvement” which has taken place within the business during the second half of the year.
East Kilbride-based Goals operates 47 centres in the UK, including three in Scotland– and one in California. A second centre was set to open in Los Angeles in December, but has been delayed until February because excessive rain levels in the Golden State hampered construction.
The delay of the second US opening led to results being slightly below market expectations, but are still a marked improvement for the business.
The departure of Mr Rogers comes as the company looks to expand its presence in the US, with chief executive Mark Jones having previously said Goals could have as many as 12 centres in and around Los Angeles.
Mr Rogers resigned as chief executive ahead of his move stateside. In the view of analysts, the departure of Mr Rogers was not a major surprise given the management developments over the last 12 months – which have seen the May 2016 recruitment of Mr Jones from Grosvenor Casinos, and the appointment of Nick Basing as chairman.
Mr Basing joined as an executive chairman, but stepped back from his executive position last month.
“I am positive that we have turned the corner with this result,” he said. “The new refocused strategy under strong new executive leadership is working and I hope momentum will build further in 2017”.
It is believed that Mr Roger’s responsibilities will be incorporated into the UK operations.
Mr Jones said: “On behalf of the company I would like to acknowledge and express our sincere gratitude to Keith for his invaluable and constructive contribution to the board over the years and we wish him well in the future”.
A new strategy, Clubhouse 2020, put in place by the new management team to focus on leisure and hospitality in addition to football has been attributed to the recovery – even considering a delay in its roll-out.
A pitchside upgrade known as Arena also made progress, with new playing surfaces, lighting and stadia boards installed on 136 pitches, helping drive a 3.1 per cent increase in football volume in the second half.
While the company said it “looked forward to delivering continued progress in 2017”, analysts cut pre-tax profit forecasts by five per cent for 2016 and 2017. Shares slid 1.4 per cent as a result, closing at 105.5p.
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