UK’s highest-paid boss sees pay rise to £265m

The UK’s best-paid boss, co-founder of online gambling firm Bet365 Denise Coates, has just received another bumper pay rise.

The firm’s accounts show compensation, for the firm’s “highest paid director” rising to £265m including dividends.

That was £48m higher than the total she received last year as the popularity of online gambling continues to grow.

However the industry is facing mounting criticism for not doing enough to deal with problem gambling and addiction.

The privately held company is owned jointly by Ms Coates and members of her direct family, including her brother John who is joint chief executive and her father Peter, the firm’s chairman. Last year Ms Coates’ pay and dividends were reported to total £217m.

In the year to the end of March her basic pay rose from £199m to £220m. The firm paid out £90m in dividends in the same year, half of which are thought to have gone to Ms Coates, as the owner of half of Bet365’s shares.

• Listen: Denise Coates profile
• Number of child gamblers quadruples

Ms Coates earned a first class degree in econometrics – the application of statistical methods to economic data – from Sheffield University before joining the High Street betting firm, run by her father.

She identified the potential of online gambling in 2000 and invested in the domain name Bet365.com so that she could drive the family business in that direction.

Bet365, now the largest private sector employer in Stoke, has millions of customers worldwide. It offers sports betting, poker, casino, games, and bingo. The accounts showed that the firm’s revenues grew by 25% in the year to the end of March and operating profit was up by 31%.

Ms Coates lives in Cheshire with her husband, Richard Smith, who also serves as the firm’s property director, and her five children.

The group also owns Stoke City Football Club, which made a loss of £21m.