Bet365 manager Denise Coates gets ₤ 300m pay bundle - a ₤ 170m cut

3 March 2022

ByRussell Hotten
BBC News

Bet365 employer Denise Coates took home about ₤ 300m during its last financial year - ₤ 170m down on the previous year - as growth stalled.

The billionaire founder of the online betting company received ₤ 250m in income and a share of the business's pay-out of ₤ 97.5 m in dividends.

Ms Coates, one of Britain's wealthiest females and a major benefactor, has actually gotten a total of about ₤ 1.3 bn from business in the previous 5 years.

Bet365 was created 21 years earlier.

Ms Coates and her brother John took over a wagering store company run by their daddy, identifying that online betting could revolutionise the market. She now owns about half of the business.

Bet365's latest accounts submitted at Companies House reveal revenues were broadly flat at ₤ 2.82 bn in the first year of the pandemic, compared with ₤ 2.81 bn in the previous year.

Although not called in the accounts, Ms Coates has actually always been considered as the individual referred to as "highest paid director". She is believed to be Britain's greatest specific tax payer.

It's unclear why the pay fell a lot, although Bet365's incomes from sports wagering was hit as the pandemic caused turmoil to sporting schedules. An increase in wagering via online slot makers and gambling establishments helped balance out the loss.

Bet365 said: "At the start of the period we experienced the practically complete cessation of sporting events. However by the end of the very first half of the year, we saw the resumption of sports with the yohaig code large majority of European football leagues managing to conclude their domestic seasons."

Meanwhile, operating revenue increased by 47% year-on-year to ₤ 285.5 m, a gain the firm stated was driven in big part by decreased pay packages for directors.

Bet365 made charitable contributions, mostly to the Denise Coates Foundation, of ₤ 103m, up from almost ₤ 90m the year before.

Ms Coates accomplished a first-rate degree in econometrics and later trained as an accountant within the household company.

The business owns Stoke City football club, and is based in Stoke-on-Trent.