Coates family’s wealth soars by whopping £1.9 billion in last year

Coates family’s wealth soars by whopping £1.9 billion in last year

The Sunday Times Rich List 2025, which was released today, shows that the Coates family is currently worth an astounding £9.44 billion. Over the past year, the owners of Stoke City and bet365 have seen their fortune surge by £1.9 billion.

After a staggering £1.8 billion increase in wealth over the previous 12 months, Staffordshire business tycoon Lord Bamford maintained his position as the richest person in the West Midlands, although it wasn’t quite enough to recover the top spot. The value of the JCB chairman and his family has increased from £7.65 billion to £9.45 billion in the past year.

The Coates family, which consists of Denise, John, and father Peter Coates, ranked 16th nationally in the overall affluent list. We revealed last month that the Denise Coates Foundation received a staggering £120 million from Stoke-on-Trent gambling bet365 during the previous fiscal year, bringing the charity’s total donations to almost £1 billion.

The numbers were disclosed in the most recent accounts for the foundation and the Etruria-based company that were posted on Companies House. According to Bet365’s financial statements, the company’s most recent yearly contribution to the Denise Coates Foundation increased by £20 million over the preceding 12 months. With interest and investment returns of £13.3m, the charity’s total incoming resources was £133m for the year, compared to £108m for 2022/23.

Since starting bet365 in a parking lot in Stoke-on-Trent, the Coates family’s estimated combined wealth has grown to £7.4 billion. However, their tale might have turned out quite differently.

In 2000, Denise Coates, the highest-paid director, took a gamble by taking out a £15 million loan to start the company out of a makeshift cabin in a parking lot. She glimpsed the future online and realized how correct she was. The family had operated betting shops for Provincial Racing.

Peter, Denise’s father and the chairman of Stoke City, was a miner’s son who turned to entrepreneurship, operating a catering company and helping to establish Signal Radio. After working as a cashier at Provincial Racing for a while, Denise went on to study econometrics at the University of Sheffield.

The bet365.com website was founded in 2001 after she obtained a £15 million loan from RBS, secured against her chain of betting shops. She sold that chain of high street stores to Coral for £40 million four years later since the new business was so successful.

Bet365 has made significant donations to relief efforts for those impacted by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines as well as charity like Oxfam, CAFOD, and the Douglas Macmillan Hospice. Renowned for avoiding the spotlight, Denise resides in a Cheshire farmhouse with her husband, Richard, a director of Stoke City who oversees the company’s real estate division.

The 10 wealthiest in the West Midlands

Regional rank	National rank	Name	Wealth	Source of wealth	Rise/Fall
1	15	Lord Bamford and family	£9.45bn	Construction giant	▲£1.8bn
2	16	Denise, John and Peter Coates	£9.445bn	Gambling	▲£1.978bn
3	105	John Caudwell	£1.6bn	Telecoms tycoon	▲£63m
4	117	Caspar MacDonald-Hall and family	£1.355bn	Landlords	▲£105m
5	150	Sir Peter, James and Steve Rigby	£1.041bn	Industrialists	▼£553m
6	153	Ranjit and Baljinder Boparan and family	£1.017bn	Restaurateurs	▲£267m
7	159	Roy Richardson and family	£985m	Housebuilder and landlord	▲£5m
8	187	Lord Edmiston	£855m	Car dealer	▼£1m
9	211	Ben Francis and family	£726m	Retailer	▲£1m
10	215	Kirsty Bertarelli	£715m	Divorcee and songw

Read more news  on https://www.sportupdates.co.uk/