Denise Coates, the billionaire businesswoman behind online gambling firm Bet365, and her family paid an estimated £156 million in tax last year.

The figure puts her second in The Sunday Times newspaper’s list of the UK’s top tax payers.

The news may not come as much of a surprise to those who recall her salary figure, reported in November 2018, which made her Britain’s best-paid boss.

Denise was listed alongside her brother John (joint chief executive of Bet365) and her father Peter (the firm’s chairman).

Above the Coates family – in first place on the list – is Stephen Rubin (who owns a majority stake in JD Sports) and his family who are estimated to have paid more than £181 million in tax last year.

Denise Coates, who lives near Sandbach, made the headlines in November 2018 for being the UK’s highest-paid boss.

She’s no stranger to chart-topping pay packages however, as 2017 saw her crowned the best-paid female chief executive in the world. 

Bet365’s accounts show that remuneration for the firm’s highest paid director rose to £265m, including dividends, in 2018 (which is £48m higher than the total for the previous year).

Bet 365 is a privately held company, owned jointly by Ms Coates and members of her direct family.