Goals Soccer Centres PLC (LON:GOAL) shares have been suspended after the Mike Ashley-backed football pitch operator discovered an unpaid tax bill of at least £12mln.
The AIM-traded company, which counts Ashley’s Sports Direct International PLC (LON:SPD) as one of its biggest shareholders, said it found a “substantial misdeclaration of VAT, going back over several years” and would enter into talks with the HMRC immediately.
The group said the final tax bill stemming from the “historical accounting errors” is yet to be determined but the current amount stands at about £12mln.
READ: Goals Soccer Centres warns again as new auditor unearths accounts errors
Goals warned that the tax misdeclaration could lead to a “material change” in its overall financial position.
“As a result the company has requested that its shares be suspended from trading on AIM,” it said.
“The board would also like to confirm that trading since 8 March 2019 has continued to be strong in both the UK and US, over the comparable period in 2018.”
The company had already said that it had identified errors in its accounts that would hit full-year earnings in a trading update on March 8 but did not reveal the full extent of the crisis until Wednesday.
Goals appointed BDO as its new auditor in June and the adjustments followed a review of how the accounts are calculated.
As a result, Goals has breached one of its bank covenants and is in talks with lenders over re-negotiated facilities.
The BDO and interim chief financial officer, Martin Johnson, are still investigating the company’s accounts and Goals said it will make a further announcement once the outcome of the probe is known.
Sports Direct owns a 19% stake in Goals.