Bet365 boss Denise Coates nets record £421m payday despite revenue fall
Bet365 chief executive Denise Coates paid herself at least £421m in the year to March 2020, despite a decline in revenue in the run-up to the pandemic.
Company filings show the gambling giant handed the sum to its highest-paid director, who is believed to be Coates. It is thought to be the UK’s largest ever annual pay packet.
The figure does not include dividend payouts on her stake of roughly 50 per cent of the company.
The bumper payday exceeds the £323m package Coates was paid in 2018 and takes her total remuneration to more than £1bn in the last four years.
It came as the Stoke-on-Trent based company reported a 7.5 per cent decline in revenue from its core sports and gaming business to £2.8bn.
Pre-tax profit dropped 83 per cent to £137m due in part to a writedown on investments, as well as the increased remuneration.
In documents seen by City A.M, Bet365 said the figures had been impacted by the cancellation of sporting fixtures in March and the lack of a major football tournament during the period.
Stoke City, the football club owned by Bet365, saw revenue fall by a third to £54.2m, largely due to its relegation from the Premier League.
While the cancellation of sports fixtures has impacted bookmakers, they have benefited from a surge in online gambling during the pandemic.
Major betting companies last year slashed their advertising amid concerns the Covid lockdown would fuel a sharp increase in problem gambling.
Bet365 said it had not reduced staff pay or laid off employees as a result of the crisis. It also did not make use of government financial support or the furlough scheme.
It comes ahead of a major review into the sector which is expected to result in the biggest shake-up of UK gambling laws in the last 15 years.
Industry body the Betting and Gaming Council this week urged ministers not to put the sector at risk, pointing to its £7.7bn contribution to the UK economy in 2019.
Coates’ enormous payday reaffirms her status as one of Britain’s highest paid directors. She is also a major philanthropist, donating millions through the Denise Coates Foundation.
The figure also means Coates is likely to have bagged the UK’s largest ever annual pay packet. Earlier this month hedge fund tycoon Sir Chris Hohn staked a claim to that title after paying himself £343m last year.