Profits rise: Sainsbury’s chief executive Simon Roberts
The Sainsbury’s boss was paid just under £5m last year, but this was just half of what his Tesco rival received.
Chief executive Simon Roberts earned £4.9m, with his £933,000 salary supplemented by bonuses, benefits and other awards. This was less than the £5.2m he made the previous year, but only half the £10m raised by Tesco boss Ken Murphy.
It is the largest amount ever awarded to a supermarket boss and double the £4.4m he was paid the previous year.
Roberts, who runs Britain’s second-largest supermarket, has helped the company boost profits and gain market share from rivals.
In April, he said the company was “firing on all cylinders” as he outlined plans to “put food back at the heart of Sainsbury’s”.
He has led the company since taking over in June 2020 in the midst of the pandemic.
Rising food prices in recent years have put supermarket executive pay in the spotlight like never before.
Sainsbury’s finance director Blathnaid Bergin received £2.4m last year.