Denise Coates, the reclusive founder of the online gambling giant Bet365, has received a colossal personal windfall of approximately £260 million for the past financial year. This latest boardroom bonanza cements her status as one of Britain's highest-paid executives.
A Staggering Pay Package
Newly published accounts for the Bet365 Group reveal the breakdown of this enormous sum. Coates received a salary of £104 million, an increase from £94.7 million the previous year. Furthermore, the company tripled its cash dividends to family shareholders to £313.6 million. As the majority stakeholder, the 58-year-old entrepreneur was entitled to a significant portion of this payout.
While the figure is eye-watering, it remains below her record £469 million pay package from 2021. Over the past 15 years, her total remuneration has now reached an astonishing £2.7 billion. The Coates family's wealth was recently estimated at £9.44 billion in the Sunday Times Rich List, ranking them as the 16th richest in the UK.
From Portable Cabin to Glass Mansion
The Bet365 empire has humble origins. Ms Coates founded the company in the year 2000, operating from a portable cabin in a Stoke-on-Trent car park. Her early conviction that gambling would thrive on the internet due to its privacy and accessibility proved prescient.
The success has funded an extraordinary lifestyle. After years in a modest farmhouse, Coates and her husband commissioned the renowned architect Lord Norman Foster to design a futuristic £90 million steel and glass mansion in rural Cheshire. The 52-acre estate, built between 2019 and 2023, reportedly includes a sunken tennis court, stables, and a boathouse. She is said to have spent a further £8.5 million buying surrounding land to ensure privacy.
Tax, Charity, and Business Performance
The Coates family are also among the UK's largest taxpayers. The group's total tax contribution to the Treasury soared to £481.5 million last year, up from £364 million in 2024.
Philanthropy plays a major role, with significant sums channelled through the Denise Coates Foundation. The company donated another £130 million to the foundation last year. Separate accounts show the foundation made 27 grants totalling £16.7 million to 22 institutions. A major beneficiary was The University Hospitals of North Midlands Charity, which received grants of £3.9 million and £2.5 million to fund surgical robots, specialist beds, and chemotherapy chairs.
On the business front, Bet365 saw revenue grow by 9% to just over £4 billion for the year ending March 2025. However, profit before tax nearly halved to £348.7 million. The accounts do not yet reflect the impact of the recent hike in online gambling taxes announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves. In its report, Bet365 emphasised its commitment to safer gambling, stating it invests significantly in delivering a safe environment for customers.
The family's former ownership of Stoke City Football Club, which was demerged from Bet365 in July 2024, was also noted. At the point of separation, the club was sitting on a loss exceeding £10 million.
