Unlock Editor’s Digest for free

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.

Bet365 boss Denise Coates saw her annual pay from the family gambling empire nearly halve to £150 million last year, a payday that still cements her position as one of the richest who are UK executives.

Coates – who is the company’s top earner – took a salary of £95m in the year ending March 2024, according to accounts filed at Companies House, from £221 million last year.

In addition, he is responsible for more than half of the dividends paid by the UK-based group, which equates to more than £55mn of the £110mn dividend for the year. This is an increase from the £100mn paid last year.

In total, this means Coates was paid around £150mn, up from the £270mn he took in last year in salary and dividends.

The latest accounts mean Coates has been paid more than £2.5bn over the past 15 years, according to Company House filings, for his role in overseeing the rapid rise and success of a family gambling empire which still based in their hometown of Stoke-on. – Trent.

Coates, an economics graduate at the University of Sheffield, convinced his father to mortgage his chain of bookies for initial investment for the online gaming group, which started in temporary offices in Stoke in 2001. high street chain was sold in 2005 to allow the business to focus solely on the growing online betting market.

Coats chose to keep the business in Stoke and run by the family, with more than half of the group still owned by him and another significant stake owned by his brother John, who is joint chief executive. Analysts and former staff say the pair – who rarely speak to the press – still manage most of operations, development, legal and financial affairs.

The group is the biggest employer in the Stoke area and one of the biggest private companies paying corporate tax, although many rivals base their operations offshore.

Bet365 accounts show that £120mn was donated last financial year to the Denise Coates Foundation, a registered charity, an increase from £100mn the previous year.

The group reported a pre-tax profit of £596.3 million for the year, compared to a loss of £72.6 million last year when it expanded into regions such as North America. Revenues rose 9 per cent to £3.7bn in the year to March 2024.

During the year, the company said it was pursuing licenses in new markets with “commercially viable regulation”, with licenses granted in several US states and “additional resources dedicated to further expand our footprint in North and South America”.

The group is the majority owner of Stoke City Football Club, which made a pre-tax loss of £30.3mn – higher than the loss of £12.4mn in 2023. However, the accounts show that it was downgraded in July 2024, with the controlling stake now owned by John Coates, the brother of Denise Coates.