Britain’s richest woman cuts pay by 45% despite profits soaring at Bet365
CEO and founder of Bet365 Denise Coates cut her pay by 45% last year but still picked up £150m as profits skyrocketed.
Bet365 reported profits before tax of £596.3m after cutting costs and securing a one-off gain on its asset investments.
The move resulted in an increase in revenue from £3.4bn to £3.7bn for the gambling empire.
Britain’s richest woman set up Bet365 in a portable building, with a £15m loan from RBS in 2001. Coates paid herself £95m this year and as Bet365’s controlling shareholder, she is entitled to at least 50% of the £110m divided that was also paid.
It is still less than Coates’ 2020 salary, where she was paid a wage of £421m for the year ending March 29. Added to this was a payment of £48m in dividends, taking her salary to £469m.
£120m was also donated to the Denise Coates Foundation, a charity set up by Coates and controlled by the family.
During the year, Bet365 increased its headcount from 7,567 to 9,145 staff.
A statement signed off by the board said: “The group has continued to invest in its trading platform capability and markets, increasing our global in-play and pre-match market offerings still further.
“The visual sports product has been improved, with enhancements to soccer and the addition of more sports, including American football and baseball.
“Our match live offering also continued to expand with the addition of basketball, further enhancing customers’ real time sports information and in-play options and experience.”
Bet365 added: “The changing worldwide gambling and leisure industries are likely to present opportunities for enhancing the group’s presence worldwide.”
