After a tough set of trading conditions in 2023, bet365 returned to profit last year – with Denise Coates able to bank another £150 million in salary and dividend payments.
The betting firm had embarked on an expansive growth campaign during the 2022/23 financial year, which saw them branch out into the North American market for the first time.
That, allied to punters tightening their belts, saw Bet365 record a loss of £72.6 million in 2022/23.
However, the Stoke-on-Trent based operator turned things around in 2023/24, with their annual accounts showing a pre-tax profit of £596.3 million. Global revenue also increased by 9%, up to £3.7 billion.
All of which is excellent news for the Coates family that own the brand; not least Denise, who has cemented her position as the highest-paid woman in the UK.
On the Up and Up
It was an excellent year of trading for bet365, who took more bets, reduced executive pay and even benefitted from external investments increasing in value in line with the stock market in 2023/24.
Their sports betting division in particular was responsible for an uptick in profitability, posting an 11% uptick in profitability for the period. Reasons given range from that U.S. expansion to the release of new betting tools and enhancements, with the Bet Builder option now available for a wider range of sports.
The prognosis for their casino and live casino arms was less positive, with results ‘broadly flat’ when compared to returns in 2022/23. Coates spoke of ‘regulatory headwinds’ as one of the factors behind the lack of growth.
The impressive financial performance comes in the face of stark losses faced by Stoke City, the football club that bet365 owned during the 2023/24 accounting period. The Potteries based outfit lost £30 million, which has impacted on bet365’s profit and loss account.
However, the operator has now demerged itself from the football club, with director John Coates now taking on ownership of the Championship side.
Despite the loss suffered by Stoke City, bet365’s return to profit will be welcomed by all with a stake in the business – not least its three directors, Denise and John Coates plus their father, Peter, who all agreed to take a pay cut in 2023/24.
That resulted in executive pay being reduced to £124 million from £304 million, which also had a major impact on the firm’s profitability; that £180 million drop-off accounts for roughly 25% of increased profit during the previous financial year.
As part of their improved financial performance, the company also increased their charitable donations to the Denise Coates Foundation from £100 million to £120 million.
Nice Work
What a life it must be to take a 45% pay cut and still walk away from the year £150 million richer.
But that’s the scenario for Denise Coates, whose reduced executive pay was bumped up by a staggering share dividend payout.
According to their accounts, she earned £94.7 million in salary in 2023/24 – down on the £221 million she pocketed during the prior financial period.
However, those earnings were topped up by a shareholding in excess of 50%, which meant that Coates took home around £63 million of the £110 million dividend allotted.
Still, it’s a staggering downturn when you consider that she banked £270 million in 2023, as well as £466 million in 2020.
According to Company House data, Denise Coates has paid in more than £2.4 billion over the past 15 years; making her one of the most considerable taxpayers in the UK.
As per the Sunday Times Rich List, the Coates family sit inside the top 20, with an estimated fortune in the region of £7.5 billion.
Not bad, when you consider that bet365 was operated from a portacabin in Stoke when the company was founded more than two decades ago. It remains in the city to this day, employing more than 8,000 staff, having resisted the urge – unlike many of its competitors – to relocate overseas in a bid to avoid the UK government’s aggressive taxation policy.
Having sold off the firm’s high street betting shops, Denise was able to convince her father to go all-in on the online bookmaking front with an advance payment – a decision that has brought mass riches, while cementing her position as one of the best-paid female directors on the planet.
Denise, aged just 22 at the time, was the driving force behind bet365, who remain the leading independent sports betting operator on UK soil.
