Bet365 founders are UK’s second-biggest taxpayers

The Sunday Times reports that the Coates family, the founders of betting company bet365, are UK’s second largest taxpayers in the UK. They have paid an estimated £156m in taxes for the 2017–18 financial year.

The top slot goes to Stephen Rubin, majority owner of sportswear chain JD Sports, who paid tax of £181.6m for the 12 months to April 2018.

The UK tax authorities estimated the Coates family’s wealth to be around £5.8bn. During the 2017–18 financial year, the business, 93 per cent owned by CEO Denise Coates, her co-CEO and brother John, and chairman and father Peter, paid corporation tax of £26.8m, with an £84m dividend paid out.

Denise Coates was paid a salary of £220m—believed to be the largest pay packet for a UK executive for the year—for which The Times estimates she paid income tax of around £99m.

For bet365 Group’s financial year ending March 25, 2018, the business saw turnover grow 25 per cent year-on-year to £2.86bn, with sports and gaming turnover contributing the vast majority (£2.71bn) of the total.