M&S outgoing chief awarded £2.8m bonus

M&S paid out the maximum possible under the profit-related element of its annual bonus plan after delivering a 4.6 per cent rise in profits to 632.5m for the year to March – a marked turnaround on the 40 per cent fall the previous year. And Sir Stuart stands to receive a potential 2.5m bonus in cash before he leaves next March, according to the group's annual report.

He is currently working on a three-month handover with new chief executive Marc Bolland, after which time Sir Stuart will step down to become non-executive chairman, taking a pay cut from 1.2m to 875,000.

M&S pay policies have already come under the spotlight this year after the group recruited Mr Bolland on a pay package worth up to 15m.

Its annual report shows that Sir Stuart received close to 250 per cent of salary as a bonus handout, of which 1.13m was paid in cash and the remainder as deferred shares.

Other executives also received significant cash-and-shares awards, with head of clothing Kate Bostock taking 1.4m and finance director Ian Dyson getting 554,000.