Coates becomes Stoke owner in 'structural change'

Stoke City were founded in 1863

Stoke City chairman John Coates has become the "outright" owner of the Championship club following a demerger implemented by bet365.

As a result of what is described as a "structural change", the club say they are now debt free and also own their stadium and training ground.

The Coates family, initially through John's father Peter, first became majority shareholders in the 1980s and did so again in 2006 when their bet365 group bought the club back from an Icelandic consortium.

Now, Stoke City Holdings Limited, which holds a 98.1% stake in the club and owns Stoke City (Property) Limited in its entirety, has been demerged from bet365.

"My family and I remain steadfast in our commitment to Stoke City, so it's very much business as usual," said Coates.

"Infrastructure projects at the stadium and our training facility will continue during the coming years at pace, and Potters' supporters can rest assured that investment in the playing squad will continue to be maximised within our competition rules.

"Everything we do is geared towards bringing long-term success to Stoke City and representing our fanbase and local community in a way that makes people proud."

A club statement said Stoke's board will continue to comprise John Coates, his father Peter and vice-chair Richard Smith.

"It's bet365 effectively acting like the bank of mum and dad and acknowledging that the money that was owed by the football club, which at one stage was over a quarter of a billion pounds, is never going to be repaid and they are just doing some tidying up," football finance expert Kieran Maguire told BBC Radio Stoke.

"Stoke tended to break even when they were in the Premier League but in the last few years, they've been losing £500,000, £600,000 a week and those costs have effectively been absorbed by the Coates family."

Stoke are about to begin their seventh consecutive season in English football's second tier, having been relegated from the Premier League in 2018.

They finished 17th in the Championship in 2023-24 and will start the new campaign with a lunchtime home game against Coventry City on 10 August.