Rival’s bid for Goals could spark a pitch battle

Goals, which has 43 UK sites, including ones in Leeds, Hull, Sheffield and Bradford, has received an approach from Patron Capital Partners, which owns a controlling stake in rival Powerleague although it added that there was no certainty an offer will be forthcoming.

The move comes just weeks after an approach from the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, which is one of Canada’s biggest pension funds and owns National Lottery operator Camelot.

The deadline for Ontario to make a bid, which has already been extended once, is next Monday.

Powerleague has 45 floodlit five-a-side football centres, with 470 pitches used by more than 130,000 players each week.

It has said it believes there is potential for more than 100 centres in the UK, with five-a-side participation having exceeded 11-a-side for the past two decades.

A typical Goals centre has between nine and 14 floodlit courts with pitches made from artificial grass, which is designed to look and feel like real turf, parking for about 100 cars and a licensed bar. The East Kilbride-based firm has added 10 new centres to its estate in the last two years, including its Hull site.

Goals has been run by Keith Rogers since 2000. He holds an eight per cent stake in the company and would be in line for a considerable pay-out if a sale was secured.

Ontario Teachers is already home to a number of leading Canadian sports assets, including the Toronto FC Major League Soccer team and the Toronto Maple Leafs ice hockey team.

The business invests the pension assets and administers the pensions of 295,000 active and retired teachers in Ontario.

Shares in Goals are now about 50 per cent higher than when Ontario first expressed an interest amid hopes that both companies will make competing off- ers.