Britain’s best paid woman Bet365 founder Denise Coates ‘gets 45% pay rise’ taking her yearly earnings to £469 MILLION – as firm records 8% drop in annual profits to £2.81bn

• Bet365 boss Denise Coates was paid a staggering £48,000 an hour in 2019/20
• Ms Coates owns more than 50 per cent of the Stoke-on-Trent based business
• Bet365 accounts were filed to Companies House after an unusual delay today

Britain’s best paid woman has granted herself a 45 per cent payrise to take home £469 million in the year to March 2020.

Bet365 boss Denise Coates, 53, was paid a staggering £48,000 an hour from March 2019 to March 2020 – not even including dividends.

Ms Coates, who owns more than 50 per cent of the Stoke-on-Trent based business, was more than £1.2billion during the last four years. 

Bet365 accounts, which were filed to Companies House after an unusual delay, listed its highest paid director – thought to be Ms Coates – as receiving £421million, not including dividends, in the 12 months to March 29, 2020. 

Bet365 boss Denise Coates was paid a staggering £48,000 an hour last year not even including dividends. Pictured, in 2012 Ms Coates was awarded a CBE

Bet365 accounts, which were filed to Companies House after an unusual delay, listed its highest paid director – thought to be Ms Coates – as receiving £421million, not including dividends, in the 12 months to March 29, 2020 (file image)

It also recorded a drop in annual profits of eight per cent – to £2.81billion, according to ERG Intel.

Operating profit fell by 74 per cent to £194.7 million, down from £758 million in 2019, because of a reduction in revenue at the same time directors were awarded a large pay rise. 

Because of Ms Coates’ large share in the business she will have received more than £45million of the £95million dividend offered to directors. 

It also recorded a drop in annual profits of eight per cent – to £2.81billion, according to ERG Intel. Pictured, Companies House 

Ms Coates was Britain’s biggest taxpayer for the second year running, according to the annual ranking of contributors to the public purse.

The Bet365 founder and her family stumped up an eye-watering £573million tax bill.

Together with her father and brother, Peter and John Coates, the family was listed 16th on The Sunday Times Rich List, with a joint fortune of £7bn.

The family made their fortune after Ms Coates recognised the power of online gambling and turned her father’s chain of bookies called Provincial Racing into a thriving business.

In 1995 she was made managing director so her father could concentrate on controlling Stoke City FC. 

Ms Coates paid herself an enormous £323million in 2019 and 2018 – a record for a UK chief executive. In 2017 she paid herself £265m.

Labour MP Carolyn Harris, who formed and chaired the all party parliamentary group on gambling-related harm in the last Parliament, told The Telegraph: ‘While gambling bosses continue to line their pockets, the victims of problem gambling still aren’t getting anywhere near the support they need.

‘The UK Government must bring the gambling industry under control and stop them cashing in on our communities with minimal control.’

MailOnline has contacted Bet365 for comment. 

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