Marks & Spencer's Bolland rakes in bonus rise despite a slide

Marc Bolland, the chief executive of Marks & Spencer, saw his bonus rise by a quarter last year, despite the company's profits tumbling for a second consecutive year.

The Dutchman's short-term bonus jumped to £829,000 from £663,000 the previous year, although half is deferred into shares for three years.

This is likely to raise the temperature at M&S's annual meeting next month among shareholders restless to see a turnaround in performance.

Mr Bolland's 2013 bonus was equal to 42.5 per cent of the maximum of £2m he could have received. His total pay last year dropped from £3.2m to £2.1m. This is because his 2012 package was bumped up by a £1.3m payout from a performance share plan that vested, which he missed out on this year. Mr Bolland had a salary of £975,000 last year. M&S posted a 6 per cent fall in profits to £665.2m to March.