Goals reports pay of outgoing boss climbed by 2% in 2017

THE outgoing chief executive of Goals Soccer Centres, who announced his resignation from the 5-a-side pitch operator in January, saw his basic salary climb by two per cent to £366,000 last year.

East Kilbride-based Goals revealed the remuneration of Mark Jones, who will leave the company next week to take up the top job at Carluccio’s, in its latest annual report. Mr Jones was paid £179,000 in 2016, having joined the company in July of that year.

The executive has been replaced at Goals by Andy Anson, the former chief executive of the England 2018 World Cup bid. Mr Anson, who joins on April 23, was most recently global president of Teneo Sports, a New Yorkbased advisory business. He has also held commercial roles with Manchester United and The Walt Disney Company. The salary which Mr Anson will receive will not be disclosed until the company issues its next annual report, a company spokesman said.

Goals reported in March that its profits before tax dipped by 19% last year to £6.2 million, in line with analysts’ consensus, as the performance of older sites run by the company weighed on results. However, it underlined the positive impact which its refurbished outlets were having on sales.

Goals received a $16 million investment last year from City Football Group to drive its expansion in the US.