King lands £5m as Sainsbury hits overhaul targets

Justin King, the chief executive of J Sainsbury, was rewarded with a £5.4m remuneration package after his turnaround plan drove a strong performance at the supermarket chain this year.

Mr King was given a basic salary of £872,000 and a bonus of £869,000, which was slightly down on last year's £1m, according to the group's annual report, published yesterday.

Yet it was the success of his "Making Sainsbury's Great Again" strategy that saw him pick up a lucrative share package worth £3.3m, after the group hit a series of targets.

Mr King, a former director of food at Marks & Spencer who also held senior roles at Asda, was appointed Sainsbury's chief executive in 2004 with the group in a malaise. He announced his turnaround plan the following year, with a target of boosting sales by £2.5bn over four years as well as lifting earnings per share by at least a fifth. Last month, the group posted an 11.3 per cent jump in annual pre-tax profits to £543m. Total sales hit £20.4bn, almost 6 per cent higher than the previous year.

He said at the time: "I'm really proud of the part I've played here at Sainsbury's over the past five years." Scotching rumours he could be heading for a rival company, he added: "the most exciting part lies ahead and I want to be playing my part".