Marks & Spencer chief executive Marc Bolland sees pay rise by 32 per cent as staff get just 2 per cent increase

Seven-figure pay deals were awarded to other senior M&S executives including the food boss Steve Rowe

Marks and Spencer Chief Executive Marc Bolland

The chief executive of Marks & Spencer, Marc Bolland, watched his pay package soar by 32 per cent in a year when the retailer finally managed to increase its profits for the first time in four years.

The company published its annual accounts showing that Mr Bolland pocketed £2.08m in the 12 months to March. Seven-figure pay deals were awarded to other senior M&S executives including the food boss Steve Rowe, the general merchandise chief John Dixon and the multi-channel head Laura Wade-Gery.

By comparison, shop floor staff saw pay rises of only 2 per cent in a year when pre-tax profits rose by 6 per cent to £661.2m.

Mr Bolland’s pay consisted of a £975,000 basic salary and a £596,000 cash bonus for hitting profits targets. Mr Rowe’s pay jumped by 80 per cent to £1.14m, Mr Dixon’s rose by 17 per cent to £1.1m and Ms Wade-Gery’s hit £1.04m – up 17 per cent.

Meanwhile, Sainsbury’s annual report revealed that the company’s chief executive, Mike Coupe, took home less pay in a year when the supermarket reported falling sales and a pre-tax loss for the first time in a decade.

Mr Coupe’s package fell from £1.9m last year, when he was commercial director, to just £1.5m this year after a brutal price war between supermarkets hit profits across the sector.

Missed sales and profits targets meant he did not get his annual bonus on top of his £900,000 salary, but he did cash in £458,000 in deferred shares and received a pension contribution of £231,000.

The chief financial officer, John Rogers, also saw his pay fall from £1.7m to £1.05m.