JJB Sports has sold its Soccer Domes division to five-a-side football centre operator Powerleague for £17.4 million.

The sale includes five purpose-built indoor soccer centres with a total of 69 pitches. As part of the deal, JJB will retain ownership of the leasehold sites and continue trading from the stores and healthclubs at the centres.

JJB will invest the proceeds in its ongoing programme of re-energising its retail stores.

JJB has also signed a five-year sponsorship with Powerleague to become its official sports retailer at the centres, giving it access to about 120,000 active grass roots footballers on a weekly basis.

JJB chief executive Chris Ronnie said: “The sale of our Soccer Domes business to Powerleague is representative of our strategy of focusing on re-energising our retail offering while at the same time looking for opportunities to increase the number and profitability of our combined healthclubs and retail stores.

“I have every confidence that Powerleague, the premier operator of five-a-side football in the UK, will successfully integrate the Soccer Domes into its own business. Many joint opportunities exist for both companies to work together and we look forward to developing these with Powerleague’s management.”

JJB’s Soccer Domes are in Manchester, Wigan, Derby, Blackburn and North Shields.