Sports Direct staff score with bonus

Sports Direct is to extend its lucrative bonus share scheme for staff for a further two years after posting a surge in half-year profits.

The retailer is on track to pay more than 2,000 full-time staff the equivalent of 75 per cent of their salary in shares if it achieves underlying profits of £205m this financial year, following a commitment to pay them 25 per cent after hitting its target last year.

Sports Direct – which is controlled by its deputy executive chairman Mike Ashley, who also owns Newcastle United football club – has unveiled a similar new bonus scheme for 2011/12 and 2012/13 that could pay staff shares worth up to 100 per cent of their salary over two years. The bonus scheme has already helped Sports Direct reduce staff turnover from 29 per cent to 17 per cent. For the 26 weeks to 24 October, Sports Direct grew underlying profits by 40 per cent to £100.7m.