Goals Soccer Centres has announced it has postponed the opening of additional five-a-side football facilities in 2012 after switching its focus to "strong cash generation".

The group said its first modular build venue in Chester - due to open in March - will be the only launch this year, with the postponement also allowing for full evaluation of the concept.

It follows the announcement that Goals had seen trading for the year to 31 December 2011 fall into line with market expectations, as overall sales increased by 9 per cent to £30.3m.

Like-for-like sales grew 1 per cent over the 12-month period, although a dispute over VAT on block bookings by teams saw overall like-for-like sales decrease by 2 per cent.

A Goals spokesperson said: "While 2011 was one of the most challenging years the consumer has faced, it looks likely that 2012 will continue in much the same vein.

"Goals operates in a resilient market place with a favourable price point and our market leading position provides us with the necessary scale to cope with the challenges ahead."