Betting boss is highest paid in UK with £469m wage packet
THE BOSS of gambling firm Bet365 took home a pay packet worth £469m in a single year, making her the highest-paid person in the UK.
Former Sheffield University student Denise Coates, 53, was paid a salary of £421m in the last financial year to March 29 2020, along with £48m in dividends, according to accounts filed with Companies House.
She founded the online gambling company in the early 2000s in Stoke-on-Trent after spotting the potential of internet betting to revolutionise the industry.
The salary is a hike on the basic wage of almost £277m that she took home in the year ending March 2019, when she was comfortably
the highest-paid boss in the country.
Ms Coates, who is Bet365’s joint chief executive, was the country’s largest taxpayer for the second year running, according to the latest annual Sunday Times Tax List.
She and her family, who are worth £7.166bn, had a tax liability of £573m last year. She has previously said she could offshore the business but prefers to ensure she pays taxes to fund public services.
Although the accounts only cover the period up to the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, the company said it took a hit as fixtures started to be cancelled.
Bet365 also revealed in the 22 weeks to August 17 that turnover from sporting events fell 26 per cent, although it was partially offset by an 8 per cent increase in gaming.
The company also revealed its number of employees increased from 4,646 to 5,014, including expansion at its Malta offices due to Brexit.