Bet365 boss Denise Coates sees pay dive to ₤ 221m

ByLora Jones
Business reporter, BBC News

The one in charge of Bet365 was paid around ₤ 221m during its last fiscal year, despite the betting giant reporting a significant loss.

Denise Coates's salary was ₤ 7m greater than the previous year, according to Bet365's newest accounts for the year to March 2023, external.

As creator and joint president of the online gambling company, Ms Coates will also have received a minimum of ₤ 50m worth of dividends.

Bet365 decreased to comment.

Ms Coates's pay bump suggests that her overall income over the previous four years surpassed ₤ 1bn.

Campaign groups such as the High Pay Centre explained the pay bundle as "neither fair nor in proportion".

"Ultimately, Britain's success depends on how the wealth our economy produces is shared," stated Luke Hildyard, executive director of the High Pay Centre which concentrates on pay and responsible organization.

"Pouring numerous millions of pounds more on top of billionaire fortunes every year isn't an excellent way to maximise living requirements and it over-values the contribution that the super-rich have actually made."

Bet365 also paid an overall ₤ 100m in dividends for the last fiscal year - a piece of which would have gone to Ms Coates who owns about 57% of the firm.

Listen: Good Bad Billionaire - Denise Coates

Doctors advised to ask patients about betting

Ms Coates established the Bet365 website in a portable structure in a Stoke-on-Trent parking area more than twenty years ago. It is now the greatest economic sector company in the city.

After training as an accountant, Ms Coates helped develop the group into one of the biggest online betting business from her father's bookmaking service. Her sibling is a co-chief executive.

Earning an annual income that peaked at ₤ 421m in 2020, Ms Coates has actually earnt approximately ₤ 1.1 bn in just 4 years.

Many top executives often see the bulk of their earnings made up of share pay-outs. It suggests that Ms Coates, her sibling and dad are liable for more tax.

According to the Sunday Times Tax List, external, the 3 were stated to have actually paid ₤ 460.2 m to HM Revenue and Customs off the back of their incomes.

Ms Coates, whose father and bro are also the joint chairmen of Stoke City Football Club, has actually seen the household bookmakers become a substantial empire.

She is frequently credited as the driving force behind the business, and became handling director of her family's chain of wagering shops at the age of 22.

The newest accounts submitted on Monday showed that Bet365 group's revenues topped ₤ 3.4 bn in the year to 26 March, 2023, helped by a boost in activity from the Fifa World Cup in Qatar. That is up from ₤ 2.8 bn the year before.

However, it reported a pre-tax loss of ₤ 72.6 m loss compared to a ₤ 49.8 m earnings in the previous 12 months.

The group introduced operations in the US and Canada which it said led to a "substantial boost in costs".

UK economy

Pay

FTSE 100 managers make UK typical wage in 3 days

4 January 2024