Denise Coates, the billionaire founder and chief executive of gambling giant Bet365, has seen her total annual pay surge to at least £280 million, cementing her position as one of Britain's highest-paid executives.
Details of the Multi-Million Pound Package
The substantial remuneration was disclosed in recently filed documents at Companies House. For the financial year ending in March 2025, Coates received a direct salary of £104 million.
Furthermore, the Stoke-on-Trent based company paid out a dividend of £353.6 million to its shareholders. This payout was more than triple the dividend distributed the previous year.
As the controlling majority shareholder, Denise Coates is entitled to roughly half of this dividend sum, equating to approximately £177 million. When combined with her salary, her total take-home for the year reaches a minimum of £280 million.
Rising Pay Amidst Falling Profits
This represents a significant increase from the previous year, when her combined remuneration was around £159 million. The latest boost comes even as the company's financial performance showed a mixed picture.
Bet365 reported that its annual turnover grew by 9% to £4.04 billion, driven by growth in both sports betting and gaming. The company cited a successful Euro 2024 football tournament and expansion into new international markets as key factors behind this revenue increase.
However, this top-line growth did not translate into higher profits. The group's pre-tax profits actually fell sharply, dropping to £338.5 million from £596.3 million the year before.
Long-Term Wealth and Potential Sale
This latest pay package contributes to an astonishing eight-year total for Coates. Over this period, her combined salary and dividends have now reached approximately £1.8 billion.
The news follows a report in May from The Guardian which suggested that Coates and her family were exploring a potential sale of the business. Such a deal could value Bet365 at up to £9 billion.
Denise Coates, who runs the company alongside her brother John, founded the online betting platform in a portable building in 2000. She remains one of the most prominent and highly compensated figures in the UK's corporate landscape.
