Centres Plc, the five-a-side football pitch operator, confirmed that it was in early discussions with privately owned Powerleague Group to explore possibilities of a merger, as reported by Reuters.
The company’s response comes after media reports suggested that it was in talks with Powerleague to combine the two businesses.
“The preliminary discussions with Powerleague are but one of the strategic opportunities currently being assessed by the Goals Board,” Goals Soccer Centres said in a statement.
At this stage, no commercial or financial terms have been agreed and no decision on any course of action has been made by the board, Goals Soccer said.
The two pitch operators are examining a merger that would create a major international leisure player, the Sky News reported on Sunday.
Goals Soccer Centres is an operator of dedicated 5-a-side football centres based in East Kilbride with 46 locations in the UK and one in Los Angeles. Headline brand partnerships are with Lucozade, Mitre Sports International and BT Sport.
Powerleague (known as Lucozade Powerleague for sponsorship reasons) is an operator of small sided football artificial pitches with 45 football centres in the UK and Ireland and based in Paisley, Scotland. In 2013 Powerleague’s revenues were £29.7 million.
